


The Gogish Master

by pequinessa



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: "minor" character death, Blood, M/M, Royalty AU, Violence, it's not /that/ bad I promise, uhmm so like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 21:55:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21204692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pequinessa/pseuds/pequinessa
Summary: “Your Highness, he is here,” Doyoung announced when he entered the prince’s room where he played his board games.“Alright,” Jaehyun said, putting the book aside. The game was already settled on the table: a brand-new board crafted with the most precious materials. The strange pieces shimmered under the rays of the sun that filtered through the wide window of the room. It was downright beautiful, and Jaehyun couldn’t wait to test it. “Let him inside.”“As you wish, Your Highness.”





	The Gogish Master

**Author's Note:**

> Welp! Hello there~ So, I'm back with a brand new YuJae fic for Yuta's bday!!! yey~ This was supposed to be up before that but oh well, life happens ahah now it's a pretty gift for my best boy <3
> 
> This work is HEAVILY inspired by Meruem and Komugi's story from the anime HxH (Hunter x Hunter). I loved their story and dynamics and got really inspired to write something similar! Although there are many similarities, there're also many differences so rest assured that if you havent watched/read HxH and plan to, you wont get spoiled!!
> 
> There are mentions of blood and violence so proceed with caution please <3
> 
> Alright, I think that's all for now. Happy reading <3

It always started like that, with those gestures, with almost imperceptible changes in facial muscles. Eyes opening wide open, lips coming apart, jaw unhinging, eyebrows rising high up.

It was the tell-tale signs of the upcoming and unavoidable defeat. The realisation of being displaced from a high place earned with years of practice, sweat, and uncountable sleepless nights. The pride built from within, the strength and confidence gained from praise and thousands of matches won, now turned to dust by a smug flick of the fingers.

It only took a couple of tries for him to master what others had spent years achieving. It was incredibly fulfilling, the sense of easily overcoming those who called themselves “masters,” those who had once trusted their abilities with the most blinding devotion.

The light of their eyes dulling when they were inevitable crushed sent a spark of delight all through his body. It was addicting.

It was that utter expression of defeat that made his insides churn in a pleasing way. The ultimate proof that he was, indeed, a heavenly being blessed with the most outstanding talents. He was celestial.

“I win.”

And as fast as that satisfaction ran through him, it flickered out. The thrumming of his veins quieted down, the rapid pace of his heart stabilized.

The man in front of him went quiet, eyes trained on the fancy board in front of him. The white pieces trapped inside the array of black pieces. It was over.

“This can’t be,” the man muttered, slightly shaking his head. “This can’t be,” he repeated, voice gaining strength.

“This can’t be possible.” The man’s gaze shifted up until it landed on the figure sitting in front of him. “You cheated!”!” He suddenly yelled, unable to stop himself from accusing his opponent. 

Before the blades could meet the soft skin of the man’s neck, Jaehyun raised his hand, signalling his personal guards to stop. The man hadn’t moved from his place, yet it seemed raising his voice was enough to earn him a death sentence. A chill went down his spine when he realised all those myths about the Prince being a cold-hearted brat who didn’t even blink in the face of death were actually truth. 

“I expected better from the National Champion our kingdom so proudly brags about. In the end, you are all the same. Scum.”

The man went red, sweat drops falling non-stop from his forehead.

“You judged me wrong.”

Jaehyun waved his hands and his guard sheathed their swords again.

“It is no sin to lose,” he continued. “It is a sin, however, to underestimate me. And I haven’t decided how to feel about that yet.”

“I’ve been playing this game since as long as I was old enough to remember, I’ve never lost a match since I turned 14-years-old. This makes no sense. You didn’t even know this game a week ago, how can this be?”

The man’s voice broke down, sobs escaping through his mouth. Snot started running from his nose as well, and Jaehyun watched in disgust how the man in front of him tried to wipe his nose and eyes at the same time with the wide sleeves of his robe.

“I am the next ruler of the greatest dynasty this earth has witnessed. Your loss was imminent the moment I was born into this world. I was brought to succeed.”

At Jaehyun’s words, the man in front of him started sobbing harder.

“You have provided me with distraction and mild entertainment, and for that, you shall not die.” Jaehyun studied the master of Shogi in front him, reduced to a mumbling mess by his mere greatness. It hadn’t been easy, Jaehyun could give him that. But the moment the man started to witness the prince’s evolution right in front of him, how the young man quickly assessed the moves and responded to them sharply, it was the moment Jaehyun knew there was no turning back. Jaehyun would win.

It wasn’t a prediction. It was the unavoidable truth. It was a fact.

When the Shogi master started getting desperate, when Jaehyun started to figure out his rhythm and pattern of playing, it was over.

“I am in no need of your presence any longer. Guards, take him out of my sight.”

The man couldn’t even put up a fight when the prince’s royal guards took him by the arms and dragged him out.

“That was outstanding, your Highness.”

Jaehyun’s gaze, trained on the way his servants cleared the board game, shifted momentarily to his personal guard, Youngho.

The man, clad in the royal colours from head to toe with a black sheath hanging from his hip in which a sharp blade rested, bowed towards the prince.

“This time, it took you even less to master the game. I am in awe of your never-ending abilities, your Highness.”

Jaehyun nodded, used to his personal and most loyal guard fussing over him. Some time ago, he had started to note a slight teasing in his guard’s constant praising, yet it wasn’t irritating enough to have him beheaded. Youngho was an outstanding guard, after all. Loyal like a famished dog was to the hand that had fed it properly. And obedient and cruel.

His was the first blade to see light when Jaehyun gave the order. The first to strike without hesitance, the first to be drenched in vibrant scarlet, warm and with a slight metallic smell to it.

There was no other in Jaehyun’s personal guard who catered to Jaehyun’s needs like Youngho did. Off went the order, off went his guard. It would be a pain to replace such a trained specimen. For now, Jaehyun would keep him within proximity, would continue leaving the collar loose. Unless he bit Jaehyun’s hand, the prince had no problem letting it run wild.

Once the board game was cleared, Jaehyun stood up from his cushion and stretched his legs. As soon as he was standing on his feet, two servants knelt behind him, hands quickly arranging and smoothing the fabric of his robe. Jaehyun started walking, uninterested on the hands that continued fixing his clothes even as he exited the main room.

“Doyoung,” he called once he was in the outside hall. The wood under him didn’t creak when a figure appeared next to him immediately, nor did Jaehyun feel his presence until he spoke.

It was what Jaehyun liked the most about him, his silent nature and almost ghost-like presence.

“Your Highness,” the man said, voice even and clear. He bowed slightly and stood to the right of the prince’s side, awaiting further instructions.

“What’s next?”

The head of the prince’s personal retinue fished out a small scroll from his sleeve, rapidly unrolling it. He gave it a quick read, a small satisfied smile appearing on his face almost instantly.

“It seems you’ve already dominated the most important and prestigious board games, your Highness. Even foreign games. According to schedule, your Highness has achieved this task two months earlier. Congratulations, my prince. As expected of the next heir of the greatest dynasty on earth.”

Doyoung closed the scroll once again and bowed deeply. The rest of the imperial court followed suit.

“Congratulations, Your Highness. Your achievement is proof of your excellence,” a chorus of voices sang automatically. A melodic rhythm could be heard in the chant, a feature acquired of automatizing such a sentence due to the thousands of times it had been said. Like a mantra, like a prayer elevated to a higher power.

“This can’t be it.”

Doyoung’s proud smile vanished like smoke.

“Have something ready for me tomorrow, Doyoung. There are two months left before my trip and I refuse to pass the time bored out of my mind. Bring me a real challenge, or else I’ll have you kicked out of the court.”

Doyoung immediately bowed.

“I apologize deeply, your Highness. It won’t happen again. Although it might be a hard task to find something your Highness won’t be able to master in a short span of time since your Highness is just so-”

Doyoung bit his tongue when the prince’s hand shut him up. The force of the slap almost sent him tumbling back but he managed to keep his feet rooted. The rest of the imperial court looked down, giving the prince some privacy.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Are those excuses I’m hearing?”

Doyoung bowed again, right cheek becoming a furious red after the hard slap. 

“I apologize, your Highness. It won’t happen again. I will make sure to bring something that will keep you Highness entertained.”

Jaehyun nodded, giving a last look to his best courtier before walking away.

“Go see Taeil,” was his last command before disappearing with his court around the corner.

Doyoung kept his bowed position until the prince was out of sight. Only when he was sure the other was out of hearing distance did he allow himself to sigh. He hesitantly lifted his palm towards his cheeks, hissing when his fingers made contact with the swollen skin.

Doyoung must have been out of his damn mind, trying to put up excuses in front of the prince. Instead of just standing in the middle of the hall, drowning in self-pity, he walked in the opposite direction of where the prince had disappeared.

Taeil wasn’t going to be happy.

{-}

“Be more careful, please,” Doyoung whined when Taeil applied the ointment on his cheek.

“It’s your fault,” the royal doctor said. The man grabbed Doyoung by the jaw, carefully tilting his head side to side to check how much the skin had swollen. A sigh escaped his lips. It had been a while since Jaehyun had hit any of the members from the prince’s personal court. He was growing more impatient by the day, Taeil bitterly noted.

“I know.”

Next came the bandage, a simple white linen patch that covered Doyoung’s cheek. The doctor quickly secured it with a thin fabric previously drenched in a sticky substance that helped the bandages stay in place.

“Here,” Taeil gave the head of the prince’s personal court a small pot with a green substance. “Apply it on your skin for a week. If you do as I say, you won’t get a bruise.”

“Thanks.” Doyoung took the small pot and quickly put into his robe’s internal pocket.

“At least he sent you here. His Highness knew you would go straight to work without coming to see me first.” Taeil began organizing his ointments, safely putting the lids on the small pots and stashing them away. Once he was done putting away the bandages and his tools, he walked a few steps away from his workspace and sat on one of the cushions in the corner of the spacious room.

Doyoung followed him, promptly sitting on the cushion on the other side of the small table.

“I can’t stay long, I have to do some research. I need something that will keep the prince entertained until his annual trip to the eastern mountains.”

Taeil nodded, a small act that showed he was listening.

“I’ve already presented his Highness with the most well-known board games, and I’ve brought to the palace the national champions of each of them, and still! We are two months ahead of schedule. Last year wasn’t this complicated. I guess there are more physical sports than board games.” Doyoung put his elbows on top of the small table and put his head between his hands. “I shouldn’t have gone with board games, it was obvious his Highness was bound to succeed. He’s only getting better and better.”

“You’re whining but all I hear is your praise.”

“Because I  _ am  _ praising his Highness. He will become a fine ruler one day. His Highness is a quick learner, and no matter how many times I witness just how fast he masters abilities he wasn’t capable of moments ago, I’m always left speechless. I don’t know any other board games. I don’t know what I will do. His Highness will surely kick me out, and rightfully so.”

Taeil rolled his eyes, used to Doyoung’s sudden outburst of insecurity. It was rather strange, Taeil thought, that a man that was chosen personally by the prince as head of his personal court was constantly doubting himself. His Highness never settled for less than perfection and excellence, and the remarkable people who were part of his retinue proved it so. Doyoung, more than anyone else, was someone the prince trusted almost completely. He would become an amazing royal counsellor, once her Majesty passed the crown down to her heir.

However, Taeil couldn’t blame Doyoung. His Highness was, after all, a rather unpredictable and temperamental being. He knew what kind of reputation preceded the heir to the Kwon dynasty. He wasn’t about to defend his Highness against all the truthful comments and rumours that went around in the city. The only thing he could say was that his Highness was in all of his right to act the way he did. He was a being destined to rule over the world, a supreme figure who would bring unity to all dynasties, as her Majesty Kwon Bo Ah had once stated.

“Do you know what Gogish is?” Taeil suddenly asked. Doyoung finally lifted his head from where it was nestled in his hands.

He shook his head.

“It’s a board game. A quite complex one. It’s likely you haven’t heard about it before because unlike jjangi, go, shogi or chess, the rules are incredibly hard to understand. It’s not as popular as other board games given that only a few people know how to play it. Yet, a Gogish champion is ten times more praised than any other board game champion. Big tournaments are hard to come by since it’s hard to gather the minimum requirement of participants. In the slums, it’s quite famous.”

Doyoung listened attentively, nodding excitedly at every word that left Taeil’s mouth.

“I don’t know if a Gogish tournament has taken place in the city in the last few years, but I heard that the neighbouring territory holds them quite frequently”

“Taeil, you’re a genius.”

Doyoung abruptly stood up and rounded the table so he could grab Taeil by the shoulders.

“I will look into it right now. I owe you one!”

Taeil just chuckled at Doyoung’s response and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“Just make sure you don’t get kicked out until his Highness takes the throne and we’ll be even.”

“Noted!” Doyoung squeezed the doctor’s shoulders once more before leaving the stance with a hurried pace.

_ This is it, _ Doyoung thought, mind going into overdrive, already preparing himself to cross over the board in order to bring his Highness a true challenger.

_ I’ll make sure his Highness is well entertained. _

{-}

“Gogish?”

Doyoung nodded, offering Jaehyun the two books he had managed to find in the royal library. He had stayed until late in the room, going through almost all of the books stashed in the high and never-ending bookcases. It had been surprisingly hard to get his hands on the two books that explained the rules of the game. They were quite hidden and a thick layer of dust had covered them. It was with fear that Doyoung first opened them, afraid the content was damaged. Nonetheless, relief washed all over him when he noticed the ink of the letters was intact.

“It’s a board game invented by the neighbouring territory, yet it has reached quite an admirable status. The rules are rather complex and not many people fully understand how to play it. However, that is one of the reasons why individuals who master the game are treated with the utmost respect.”

The prince opened one of the books and began reading, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He went over the pages, barely reading the content.

“Sounds fun,” the prince commented. The soulless voice of the prince would have deterred anyone- yet Doyoung knew his prince quite well. He could pick up the slightest tone of curiosity laced in his impassive voice.

“It was hard to find the person who holds the national title but arrangements have already been made. He lives in the neighbouring territory so he will be here tomorrow night. I apologize for the tardiness, your Highness. However, I thought it would give you some time to read over the books.”

The prince looked up from the book in his hands. Doyoung could feel how the other’s eyes quickly passed over the patch on his right cheek.

“That’s fine,” the prince answered, eyes rapidly setting on Doyoung. “Well done.”

Doyoung bowed deeply, a feeling akin to pride burning hotly in his chest.

“I will always be at your service, Your Highness. The day I can’t comply with your orders is the day I shall be executed, for my life belongs to your Highness only. I was born to serve you.”

Jaehyun nodded, his typical neutral expression shining on his face.

His loyal dog, ready to die just because he felt like it.

Youngho could kill for him but Doyoung would  _ die  _ for Jaehyun. He didn’t expect less of the head of his personal court.

The prince went back to reading. He hoped this time around, the Gogish master would be able to entertain him for more than a week.

{-}

“Your Highness, he is here,” Doyoung announced when he entered the prince’s room where he played his board games.

Jaehyun was already sitting on the big emerald cushion atop of wood panels. He had been re-reading the book his closest courtier had given him. The game did prove to be harder to understand than expected, and that only made Jaehyun look forward to playing the game. It was an unexpected feeling he hadn’t quite experienced previously when he faced the masters of the other board games.

“Alright,” Jaehyun said, putting the book aside. The game was already settled on the table: a brand-new board crafted with the most precious materials. The strange pieces shimmered under the rays of the sun that filtered through the wide window of the room. It was downright beautiful, and Jaehyun couldn’t wait to test it. “Let him inside.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

Doyoung retreated and Jaehyun made himself comfortable on the cushion.

“His Highness, I present you the winner of the last five national tournaments of Gogish,” Doyoung reappeared moments later with a man trailing behind him.

Jaehyun blinked, taking in his opponents figure.

The first thing he noticed was his juvenile face. He seemed young, as young as Jaehyun himself, he guessed by the lack of facial hair and tight skin.

It was a surprise, given that the other board game masters had been men in their late 50’s at least.

The young-man walked slowly behind Doyoung, eyes wide with wonder. His gaze took in all the opulent ornaments that hung from the ceiling and covered the walls of the rooms.

It wasn’t a rare reaction, Jaehyun thought when he noticed the other’s clothes: not dirty or ragged yet it was obvious the fabric of his opaque clothes were worn and had been mended in many places.

It wasn’t his clothes, though, what caught Jaehyun’s attention. Other than his boyish face, it was his vibrant red hair that made him do a double-take. He had no idea people could have such hair colour.

Red-hair; like the colour of a vibrant ruby.  _ Long _ red-hair. Or at least Jaehyun thought so since it was messily tied in a sort of bun on the top of his head. Some strands fell out of place and they almost reached the man’s lower back.

The flames that came alive when a fire was ignited were of a similar colour. The scalding lava of a volcano, too. Jaehyun thought for a second that if he were to touch the others’ hair, his fingers would become coal.

“Your Highness,” the man spoke, eyes growing impossibly wide when he took in Jaehyun’s figure. He kneeled and bowed deeply, forehead touching the back of his hands that rested on the floor.

Jaehyun shot Doyoung an unimpressive look. The courtier just gulped, aware that the man currently bowing in front of them wasn’t exactly what he had expected.

“Rise,” came the order.

The man scrambled up upon Jaehyun’s voice.

“Your Highness, I am deeply moved by your consideration. I can’t properly express how honoured I am of being able of just standing right in front of you. I am not worthy of such an honour. I will never-”

“Silence.”

The man made a strangled noise and follow the command. He nodded and proceeded to bow again.

Doyoung was starting to get red in the face. He couldn’t believe such a mannerless and unsophisticated young-man was the champion of one of the most complex board games in existence. He was tempted to just throw him out for behaving in such an improper manner.

“Come.”

Jaehyun called him over, chin lifting up towards the cushion on the other end of the table, signalling the man to take a seat. The other rapidly walked towards the table, unceremoniously sitting on the cushion.

“This is a beautiful board, your Highness,” the man commented, admiration laced in his voice. His big eyes were trained on the game, eyes frantically absorbing the details of the marvellous piece of crafting. “I know I said it before, but I truly wish to express how grat-”

“You are not allowed to talk to me from now on,” Jaehyun said, exasperated. “If you speak out of turn, I'll have your tongue removed.”

Youngho snickered from his place a couple of metres away from the prince. Doyoung glared at him but Jaehyun paid him no mind.

The man immediately shut up and nodded. He gave a little bow with his head and looked expectantly at the prince.

“I’ll take the red pieces, you take the blue ones.”

The man nodded and started arranging his pieces on the board. Jaehyun noticed the way the other lightly caressed the pieces with his fingers, the way he treated them with the utmost care, meticulously placing them on the board.

Once the 42 pieces were placed on the board, Jaehyun signalled the man to go first. The other nodded and inhaled deeply before closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, Jaehyun noticed how the glint in his eyes and his entire semblance seemed to have changed. The once glazed-over, silly glint from before had morphed into something more serious. He had a concentrated countenance.

“Let’s begin, then.”

The game, Jaehyun admitted, was nothing like the games he had previously played. The pieces were different and played other roles. The basic aspects of most games remained, though. There was a sort of King or Queen, called the Ruler, that was the most important piece and the one that needed the most protection. Then came the pieces meant to defend it: four Guardians, two Spies, two Monks, two Towers, and two Marshalls. Just like in chess, there was another piece almost as important as the ruler: the Supporter. A powerful piece that could move in almost all directions. Lastly, the first line of defence, the pawns, which were called the Puppets.

What made the board game so hard to understand and learn was the large array of rules. The pieces’ moves weren’t difficult, however, depending on the pieces in the proximity, the moves were limited and the way in which one could capture the opponent's pieces changed. It was a game meant to nurture a strategic mind that would take into consideration a wide range of factors when faced with enemies.

Analysing and planning were key in the game. The moment the opponent made the move one should start to already see the outcome of the game. It was quite challenging and frustrating.

However, Jaehyun could feel his blood thrumming with every move he made, with every piece his opponent captured. He had understood the rules perfectly, still, playing the actual game felt nothing like reading the guide book.

The Gogish master didn't even bat an eyelash when Jaehyun moved his pieces; it only took him a second to respond to the prince’s movements. He moved effortlessly, almost automatically.

Jaehyun was thrilled because he realised that it might take him longer to beat the other. Nevertheless, he would win. Eventually, Jaehyun would defeat the man who was so lazily playing against him. The mere idea of crushing the light of his opponent’s eyes fuelled his determination even more.

It didn’t even bother him that his opponent wasn’t taking him seriously. Not seriously in the sense that the other was mocking him, but seriously in the sense that since they started playing, the other hadn’t even stopped to think about his next move.

It was alright, Jaehyun mused. He always started like this, slow, gauging his opponent’s movements and patterns, analysing their strategies and figuring out their way of thinking. Jaehyun would break him, just like he had broken all of his challengers.

Until then, he would enjoy the game. Would enjoy this short moment of learning. One of the things the prince liked the most was that brief stage in which he could feel the brand new knowledge engraving itself into his brain, could feel how an empty space in him would steadily be filled to the brim.

Jaehyun had learned to appreciate such rare moments of learning. His prodigious mind enabled him to acquire information at an alarming speed and the satisfaction of becoming more knowledgeable was short-lived. He would bask in that moment, then, silently enjoy the way in which he rapidly memorized the Gogish master’s rhythm and familiarized himself with the others’ patterns.

Doyoung had done well.

{-}

It was after the first week that Doyoung began feeling anxious.

During Jaehyun and the Gogish master’s games, he would dutifully stand on the side, watching the prince play in complete silence. Doyoung had been present in all of the prince’s games so he had become acquainted with the other’s progression. Whenever Jaehyun started figuring out his rival’s patterns, he would speed up in order to test all of his hypothesis, to test all the new movements he could use to counterattack. Then came the prince’s minimal change in his expression whenever he grew used to the game, to the point in which his rather taut face would relax. It was the moment in which Doyoung knew it would only take a couple of games more for the prince to win.

It had been one week since Doyoung had brought the foreigner to the palace yet the head of the prince’s personal court hadn’t been able to notice any of the tell-tale signs on the prince’s face. It was tiny, a barely-there feeling, yet the ball of uneasiness had started settling in his stomach. He could tell Youngho had also started to become somewhat restless.

The guard wasn't one to watch over the prince’s game, he found them quite boring after all, yet he had started sparing a glance or two every thirty minutes to where the prince played with the other.

He had noticed, however, how the foreigner’s eye bags grew larger by the day.

It was true the prince spent an unhealthy amount of time playing the game, which meant the red-hair couldn’t stop playing until the prince said so. He had never shown signs of wanting to stop or of tiredness. He actually seemed too entertained with the game to notice the number of hours devoted to playing.

However, recently Doyoung could tell he was being just a tad bit slower. Not because he needed to think about his next move, which was an alarming situation given that this tiny fact indicated that the prince hadn’t managed to put pressure on his rival; but rather because he didn’t seem well-rested.

Honestly, the courtier didn’t know where the foreigner was staying. The prince hadn’t given any instructions regarding his opponent’s accommodation or well-being in general, so whenever the prince decided to call it a day, Doyoung would show the other to the exit of the palace and send him away until he was needed again the following day.

He hadn’t stopped to think about it, either. Most of the other master players were generally from the city so they needn’t worry about anything that didn’t impact their comfort inside the palace.

Given that the other hasn’t asked for anything, Doyoung had assumed he was taking good care of himself. Although it wasn’t a particularly strong observation to start coming to conclusions, he realised. Since the prince had ordered him to remain silent, the young man hadn’t spoken a word. He would greet Doyoung in the entrance of the palace and would bow to any of the people that came into view. But he didn’t speak to the prince.

He would come into the room, settle himself on the cushion and began playing. It was a monotonous routine yet Doyoung could see from the moment the guards let him in that the man was enjoying every second of the situation.

_ He really must like playing, _ he mused.

The prince, although he hadn’t shown any particular change, didn’t seem impatient. He remained calm, taking his time to think about his moves. Not once had he shown signs of being exasperated or irritable.

A good sign, then; it meant that no head would be flying in the near future.

After Doyoung had sent the foreigner away for the day, Jaehyun called him to his private chamber. A novelty.

“Where is the man staying?” had been the simple question. The prince didn’t look particularly interested yet such a simple sentence threw Doyoung off.

He tried to mask his surprise by pretending to think for a moment.

“I don’t know, your Highness,” he replied truthfully.

Why, oh why, had Prince Jaehyun, next ruler of the greatest dynasty the world had ever seen, ask about such a low-life man? Doyoung felt himself getting angry at the fact that the prince spent a moment of his day thinking about a man who was clearly below his Highness.

He had never asked anything about his other challengers.

The prince didn’t ask anything further and just nodded, acknowledging the piece of information. Doyoung was dismissed a short while after and, once he closed the door behind him, he went back to his room.

Lying on his bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about the prince’s question. The tiny ball of uneasiness had started rolling again inside his stomach, making impossible for him to sleep. He tried to tell himself that the prince had noticed the short delay in the other man’s movement, hence, he was bound to feel curious about the reason why. The moment he took in the other’s tired expression, the prince surely started brainstorming about the possibilities that hindered his rival’s efficacy.

The prince wasn’t interested in the man per se, but rather in the fact that he hadn’t been playing with his full potential, which somehow made it seem as if he was underestimating the prince’s capability.

Doyoung tried to console himself with this thought, vaguely aware that there were some holes in his reasoning: the Prince had never actually cared for details like that, he wasn’t one to care for his opponents’ health. Doyoung couldn’t recall a situation like this ever happening before. However, he decided he wasn’t going to lose his head about this.

It had been a simple question, born from the prince’s unsatisfactory curiosity and need of being in control of everything.

Just that.

_ Only that. _

_ _

{-}

The silence in the room became palpable when the muffled sound of the pieces moving over the board wasn’t there to fill it.

Nobody seemed to be breathing, all respirations halted in light of the situation that was transpiring.

Doyoung watched in horror at how the Gogish master stayed silent, and he could see Youngho taking a stride over him, hand already on the hilt of his sword.

“If I’m allowed, your Highness,” one of the members of the court spoke, bowing his head a little. His voice echoed in the absence of sound. “You told the young man that he wasn’t allowed to speak out of turn.”

The head of the court immediately looked towards the speaker Sunyoung, who caught his gaze and looked away. The rage burning inside Doyoung’s eyes was enough to force her to look away.

Youngho stopped when the prince lifted a hand in his directions, signalling the guard to halt his march.

“Is that so,” the prince said, eyes never leaving the impassive face of his opponent. “You are allowed to speak, then. You will answer every question I ask from now on.”

The man bowed his head towards the prince, bangs falling over his eyes in the process before answering the question previously put to him.

“I will do as you say, your Highness. I’m staying at an acquaintance's house.”

Why?

Why did the prince ask the man the question that had been thrown to Doyoung just the night before?

The prince lifted his hands towards his chin, and his pointer and thumb lightly caressed it. A sign that his Highness was thinking.

“Why do you look so tired if you have a place to rest? Are you underestimating me? Spending your time doing anything else that isn’t resting.”

“I could never, your Highness. It’s just-” the man hesitated, biting his lips. “Uhm, it’s just. Well. My friend lives a bit far from here so it takes a bit of time to get here. I don’t want to be late so I make sure to leave early so I don’t make your Highness wait. But it’s fine! I can play Gogish for three days without interruption, so please don’t mind me I can-”

“How far?”

The man blinked, surprised. Doyoung too, blinked, just as baffled.

Was the prince actually...engaging in conversation?

“Uhm. I’m not sure, uhm. M-maybe 25 kilometres, Your Highness. You see, my friend is a farmer so-”

“Why do you walk?”

The man blinked again.

“I don’t know how to ride a horse, your Highness. And my friend can’t bring me.”

“I see.”

The prince nodded towards the man, indicating he wished to resume the game. The Gogish master let out a yelp and rapidly went back to the board.

Doyoung wasn’t aware he had been holding his breath until he inhaled and felt his lungs burning.

What had just happened? What on earth has just happened?

Doyoung could feel Youngho’s burning gaze on him as if expecting the head of the court to pull an explanation out of his ass for what had just happened. Doyoung looked back, at a loss as much as the personal guard.

The rest of the court also seemed to be disoriented, and Doyoung could feel in their gaze and barely concealed faces of shock that they wanted to just ask someone what had happened. Trained as they were, they kept quiet, faces falling back to their neutral expressions once more.

Doyoung let out an inaudible sigh. He didn’t wish to upset the prince by making it obvious just how abnormal his actions had been.

Jaehyun was the prince. He could do whatever he wanted and none of the court members had the right to judge him, none of the members had the right to wait for an explanation.

Shame suddenly filled Doyoung. How did he even dare to wait for an explanation, as if the prince owed something to him?

_ How embarrassing. _

Did Doyoung feel so entitled due to his privileged position? The sudden realisation that his inner thoughts and feelings had overstepped a boundary he had sworn he would never cross, sent his head spinning.

How awful. Unheard of. The head of the prince’s personal court...over-analysing his Highness’s actions? The prince always knew what he was doing, and nothing was done without a major purpose.

As the game continued, Doyoung felt like crying. He had disappointed the prince.

But he would make up for it. He would see all of the prince’s wishes and commands were met immediately, free of questioning. It was the least he could do.

Yet he felt the prince was actually pushing his own goodwill when he announced the games were over for the day and requested Doyoung to make sure the Gogish master was taken home in one of the carriages.

Doyoung, ever the loyal servant, bowed and promised his Highness he would personally take the man home. He willed away all of the alarms that had set off inside of him and complied with the request.

“His Highness is truly too good,” the man commented.

Doyoung scoffed from his place in front of the other.

“Do not get ahead of yourself. Your Highness is only doing this because-”

“Because he wishes to beat me, and he would never accept a win at the expense of my poor performance due to health conditions. His Highness is a very fair and proud man.”

Somehow, the man’s calm words helped subdue the fires licking at his organs from within. The fact that this man understood that his Highness had no interest in him whatsoever and that everything he did, he did it for his own sake, brought him relief.

Nothing had changed. The prince continued being the celestial being that he was, a being beyond earthly disputes.

And Doyoung would continue fulfilling his every wish, would continue putting the prince’s well-being and happiness first.

As he had always done.

As he would always do.

{-}

“Let’s make a bet.”

The man sitting in front of him raised his eyes from the board and straightened his pose. He was listening.

Jaehyun studied his rival for a moment.

Three weeks had gone by since he had first been brought into the palace, and yet, Jaehyun felt like there was no actual progress in his aim of winning. Actually, it wasn’t as if Jaehyun hadn’t gotten better. He could feel his mind expanding, could feel how his body had automatized, systematized some movements. Now he knew how to promptly respond to his rival’s traps. He was learning and growing, he was becoming better at Gogish, even better than he had been with the previous board games. He recognized it was due to his rival’s abilities. He couldn’t quite understand how such a person, who sprouted as if from the nothing and couldn’t even read nor write, could have mastered one of the most difficult games in history.

Yet there he was, sitting in front of him, looking at him with his wide eyes which often seemed to be disoriented, as if the other couldn’t comprehend what was he doing in the world.

Even if he didn’t fully understand his rival, he had made peace with it. At that point, it didn’t matter who his rival was or where he had come from. He had earned Jaehyun’s respect. He was admirable.

It had been a while since Jaehyun could acknowledge someone else’s abilities, and this fact alone made his aim of winning a Gogish match all the more enticing. Winning had gone from being a mere entertainment to being a goal. He wanted to win. He wanted to beat the man who hadn’t once backed down, who mercilessly crushed Jaehyun in every match, never holding himself back.

“If you win the next match, I’ll grant any wish you have.”

The man blinked, eyes going round with surprise.

“If I win, I’ll have your right arm.”

Jaehyun watched how the man’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, nose scrunching in the process.

_ Ah _ , there it was.

People’s judgement tended to cloud when the promise of getting whatever their heart desired appeared. It messed up with their actions, making them reckless and easy to predict. They couldn’t see what was there to lose, didn’t care about that. Greed was a dangerous weapon, and Jaehyun had still to see the person who didn’t fall prey into its claws.

“I’m sorry but that won’t do, Your Highness.”

It was Jaehyun’s turn to blink.

“Why?”

The man flushed when faced with the prince’s penetrating gaze.

“I don’t think it’s a fair bet for you, Your Highness. You see, I’m not really good at anything that isn’t playing Gogish. I’ve never lost a match in my life, your Highness, and that’s why I’m currently the champion of Gogish. The moment I lose is the moment I stop being a champion, the moment I no longer would be able to call myself a Gogish master. It’s a common thing between players to say that you lose your title of master the moment you lose a game. I would be nothing, sir.”

“Therefore, I offer you my life, Your Highness. If I lose the next match or any of the matches we play, you can take my life. It would mean I am no longer worthy of being called a Gogish master. And I would have failed you, too, your Highness. I was brought to entertain you, and the moment you win against me is the moment you won’t find entertainment in the game anymore. I would have failed you, and I would never forgive myself for that, Your Highness.”

Jaehyun looked at his rival and tried to find even the tiniest speck of insecurity in the other’s eyes. Absolute resolution was what he found.

“Interesting,” was all he said before laughing. Jaehyun started laughing, attracting all of his personal court’s attention.

“You’re so interesting,” he managed to say between laughs.

“Ah!” the man suddenly said, clapping his hands and startling the people in the room who had gone still upon the prince’s laugh. “I’m sorry, Your Highness!” he shouted before launching himself to the floor in a deep bow.

Jaehyun stopped laughing, now confused by the sudden change of events.

“Why are you apologizing?”

When the man lifted his head, Jaehyun was surprised to see that there were tears in his eyes.

“I have insulted you in the worst way, Your Highness. I offered you my life if I lost, but I will have become trash by that moment. If I lose in the only thing I’m good in the entire world, I’d be nothing but trash. I was offering trash, your Highness. I’m sorry I acted in such a rash way and didn't think things through. I apologize, I don’t think there’s something I could bet you’d be interested, your Highness. I will humbly accept my punishment.”

When Jaehyun began laughing again, all the court went still again. The prince rarely laughed and hearing the sound felt almost intrusive.

“You,” the prince started, relaxing in his cushion. “You are definitely something else. It seems I’ve insulted your will and resolution.” He chuckled and shook his head lightly. “How naive of me, trying to go for you with such tricks. The bet is cancelled. As compensation for underestimating your intentions, I will give you whatever you want. You name it and you shall have it.”

The man with the red-hair raised his hand towards his mouth and bit his thumb. He kept looking at the prince with an intense stare. Jaehyun had never seen him so resolute before, and he was eager to know what the man would request.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” the Gogish master suddenly said, scratching his head. “I don’t know what to ask for, Your Highness. I don’t think there’s something I want at the moment. I’m content enough with my life as of right now. I am playing against an excellent rival, your Highness, and nothing brings me more happiness than that. I guess I have used all of my life’s worth of luck to be able to play with your Highness, I don’t dare to push for more. I apologize if it looks I’m rejecting your incredibly kind compensation, your Highness. It’s just I don’t really know what to ask for.”

_ Where did this man come from? _

“If you don’t accept my compensation, I shall eliminate you myself,” Jaehyun said passively, feeling a tad offended. His hand immediately closed around the handle of the sword he always carried and unsheathed it.

The distance between him and the other man wasn’t much; with one light push from Jaehyun, the tip of the sword pressed against the man’s neck would cut through the skin like silk. It’d be over in the blink of an eye.

“If you wish to eliminate me, your Highness, do it so playing Gogish.”

The man wasn’t defying him, he wasn’t being cocky. Jaehyun could tell by the sheer determination that shone in the man’s eyes.

Jaehyun sighed and put the sword away. The man hadn’t even blinked.

“Doyoung,” the prince called all of the sudden.

The head of the court, who had had his heart in his throat the whole time the situation was developing, suddenly was pulled out of his dazed.

“Your Highness,” he answered, taking his place right next to Jaehyun.

Jaehyun turned his head to look at him.

“You’ve outdone yourself.”

{-}

Youngho had never quite understood the prince’s obsession with board games. Granted, he knew every year the prince took a special interest to certain hobbies.

Last year had been more fun, Youngho mused. The prince had set his mind on mastering all physical games and had asked Youngho to conduct the research and to bring him the best players of all the games so he could beat them.

Doyoung had done the research instead of the guard. Youngho wasn’t particularly good at investigating nor was he as interested as the head of the court. He had made sure, though, to find the best players for the prince.

Physical activities were a thousand times more entertaining. Youngho had gotten a kick out of watching the prince get dirty in the endless backyard of the palace. The rule that established that the prince shouldn’t be touched by anyone who didn’t have express authority to do so had been lifted. Thus, the players didn’t have to worry about getting themselves executed.

It had been really amusing, and while Doyoung, seated in the shade, looked like he wanted to die, Youngho had the time of his life. It wasn’t pretty when Jaehyun won and his rival, blind with rage and shame, attempted some dirty trick to get back at him.

Last year the guard had sliced more heads off than he could recall. Even then, it had been fun. The year had been packed with action and with Jaehyun getting beat up until he could completely dominate the game in a matter of days.

This year, so far, had proved to be quite unamusing. It had been Doyoung to propose to the prince to try board games. Youngho feared the prince would grow bored too fast, but contrary to his initial beliefs, the prospect of a mental battle appealed to his Highness quite a lot.

Even if the prince looked enthusiastic about it, it didn't mean board games weren’t boring. The prince’s opponents were lanky and had too much pride for people who spent most of their time sitting playing games. Nothing interesting had ever happened.

Until the red-hair, that is.

Youngho was starting to appreciate the young man who easily riled up the prince and who seemed too stupid and naive for his own good. He knew Doyoung was worried because the prince had started to become more indulgent with his rival. It didn’t worry the guard, though.

The real entertainment had just started, and even if deep down he always rooted for his prince, even if he knew the prince would eventually win, he hoped the young-man could hold out for a little longer.

None of the things the prince did worried him. It sure puzzled him very much, yet not enough to have him on guard around the red-haired man.

Of course, this mentality started wavering with the prince’s question. He was aware that if such a question had set something off inside Youngho’s chest, Doyoung was most likely at the brink of breaking. Never had the prince asked something like that.

The implications of such a simple request were undoubtedly alarming. Something inside Youngho shifted.

He realised just how dangerous the foreigner could be. The prince had, somehow, given him importance. This man could no longer be seen as a mere rival who would go away the moment he lost.

This man has become someone important. Had become relevant.

“Your name,” Jaehyun had asked after a particularly long game. “Tell me your name.”

“I am Yuta, your highness. At your service.”

The prince had put a name to the face of the person he wanted to beat so badly. Yuta had piqued the prince’s interest.

The names of the people the prince bothered remembering could be counted with less than the 10 fingers on his hands. Yuta, all of a sudden, had escalated over thousands of people in the span of a few weeks.

Doyoung was right.

He  _ was _ dangerous

{-}

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called once Yuta had left.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Do you think I’ll be able to beat Yuta?”

Jaehyun was aware he was putting Doyoung in a difficult situation. He didn’t particularly care.

It wasn’t as if he was questioning his abilities, his skills. The easiest answer to his question would be that Yuta was better than him. Currently, he was better at playing than Jaehyun. However, the simple notion of someone being better than Jaehyun, even after some time for acclimatization, was rather dangerous.

“Of course, Your Highness. All in due time. It’s taken just the tiniest bit more of time but rest assured you will definitely win. You always do, Your Highness.”

Jaehyun smiled slightly. Asking Doyoung had been pointless. An unbiased opinion was what he was looking for, so of course asking the one person who would die for him on the spot hadn’t been the smartest move.

Something strange had been happening recently, Jaehyun mused while he watched Doyoung sorting some royal documents.

He felt...eager. When he rose, this foreign feeling settled in his heart comfortably. It was a subdued itch that disappeared the moment Yuta’s arrival was announced. At first, Jaehyun didn’t know what to make of it, yet after giving it some thought he came to the natural conclusion that he enjoyed his time with Yuta.

He enjoyed playing with the Gogish master. He looked forward to playing against him.

That burning desire of beating him hadn’t gone anywhere, if anything, it had only grown larger and larger.

Jaehyun was used to excelling at everything he did, to receiving constant praise and validation. He was good, great even, at anything he put his mind to. Yet, for some reason he couldn’t fathom, no matter how great he had become at Gogish, it wasn’t enough. The moment he took one step further in his progression, Yuta had already taken five steps further. The Gogish master didn’t allow Jaehyun to catch up to him.

And maybe this sort of strange feeling, of being tested and constantly challenged made Jaehyun’s day better. He got easily bored since no one had ever really matched his skills, no one had come close to his level, no one had ever kept him entertained for long enough. But again, Yuta  _ had _ .

Jaehyun found himself feeling rather impatient during meetings and royal duties. His mind always wandered to the red-hair master. Didthe other think about Gogish all the time, too? Because that’s what Jaehyun did. He was endlessly coming up with new strategies and new moves he wanted,  _ needed _ , to try. The sudden urge to play, to attempt his plays and see if he could actually beat Yuta outdid any other urge he had felt in years.

Somehow, these thoughts left a bitter taste in the prince’s mouth. Why was he so fixated on winning? He knew he eventually would, he had no doubts about it. As Doyoung had said, it might take longer yet he was absolutely certain he would defeat the Gogish master. Never had Jaehyun felt such a strong desire. It was bracing, new, and exciting.

Gods, how torturous it was to wait for the other. When he was done with his duties, Jaehyun would promptly instruct Doyoung to bring Yuta over. The minutes he would spend sitting on his cushion in front of the board game were the longest. He needed Yuta to be there whenever he wanted. After all, the other had been brought to the kingdom with the sole purpose of entertaining the prince. So why did Jaehyun need to wait for him? Why did he feel so restless?

The anxiousness that bit at him wasn’t pleasant, and it wasn’t something Jaehyun was used to feeling. While the adrenaline of not knowing whether he would win or not was unusual, yet appreciated, the other emotions weren’t as welcomed.

Jaehyun did like to be in control, of others and of himself, and as such, this unwelcome feelings that started moving around him had to vanish.

“Doyoung, Yuta will be staying with us from now on. Prepare a room for him,” he suddenly said.

And what a brilliant idea. By making Yuta stay in the palace, at his sole disposition, he would no longer have to wait for the other to arrive. He wouldn’t have to worry about his opponent being in prime condition because he could entrust his care to someone else.

He wouldn’t need to care about Yuta resting or not, or about any other physical condition. If he kept him in the palace, the master’s welfare would always be optimal. Moreover, he could have Yuta available at all times.

Such a conclusion helped untangle the knot that had starting to form inside of Jaehyun. Yuta would soon become part of the palace's decoration, he would become an extension of the board game. He would only see him whenever Jaehyun felt like playing, without worrying over useless things, and then Yuta would go back to his room until he was called again. Another game that his servants would put away until required.

“I beg your pardon, your Highness?”

Jaehyun could see just how tense the head of his personal court got, shoulders still and hands frozen mid-air.

“Was I not clear?”

“No, Your Highness! I mean, you were clear, I apologize, your Highness. I meant I don’t think I completely understand. How many days, your Highness? Starting when?”

“Today. He will stay here until I say so, see that everything is taken care of.”

“Of course, Your Highness. Everything will be taken care of. I shall tell master Yuta about the new arrange right away, then.”

“I’ll do it myself. You’re dismissed.”

Doyoung bowed deeply and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Now, Jaehyun could have Yuta play with him whenever he felt like. Somehow, having Yuta around helped settled Jaehyun’s heart. Given he was to leave to his annual trip to the mountains soon, the number of duties had increased. Before his departure, Jaehyun liked to have everything running smoothly and in order. He knew his mother didn’t particularly like to take care of official and tedious work related to the kingdom, thus, paperwork almost always fell on Jaehyun’s hands.

His own perfectionist and cautious personality didn’t really allow Jaehyun to just pass the assignments to someone else; he liked to supervise all operations himself.

The fact that Jaehyun would leave for three weeks meant paperwork would undoubtedly accumulate. He knew Doyoung would likely tend to everything, yet, there was only so much the other could do without Jaehyun’s approval. He also knew his courtier wasn’t fond of interrupting her Majesty with things she had established weren’t to her liking.

Jaehyun didn’t resent such tedious work, he was used to it. However, this year it was different. Staying all cooped up in his room signing and sealing documents meant the amount of time he spent playing Gogish would naturally diminish.

Jaehyun knew he could have Yuta brought to the palace at whichever hour he pleased. Yet, the idea, for a reason he couldn't really put his finger on, didn’t appeal to him. Instead, having Yuta in the palace all the time would probably work better.

The red-haired man could be woken up at any hour, and once Jaehyun’s Gogish thirst was quenched, the other could go back to sleep immediately. Plus, Jaehyun knew Yuta would be well taken care of.

It wasn’t that he particularly cared about the other’s well-being; it was just that Yuta should be in top form whenever he played against Jaehyun as a means to assure he would not slack in the game.

Even if Jaehyun had taken care of Yuta’s transportation, he wasn’t sure whether the other slept in a comfortable environment or whether he was eating all of his meals. The man looked quite fragile, after all.

Jaehyun could control Yuta’s comfort from now on and that eased the knot in his heart. Since it meant he’d be able to play more Gogish, of course.

_ Of course. _

{-}

Youngho could tell the prince had noted Yuta’s limping, had noted the way the other’s face scrunched when he sat down on his usual spot.

He threw Doyoung a quick look. The other was already looking at Youngho with a questioning look on his face.

Yuta had been living at the palace for a week now. He didn’t dare to say the prince looked happier since the prince never looked happy anyway. Annoyed, satiated, satisfied, bored and mildly entertained were the prince’s only emotions, Youngho was sure of it. He did look more...gingered up, somehow. It was strange, yet Youngho thought it looked good on the prince.

A prince with a good mood also meant nobody was yelled at or hit. A win-win for everyone, in Youngho’s opinion.

He could see that was about to change, unfortunately.

“Open your robes,” was what the prince said when Yuta made to move one of the pieces.

A sense of dread sat in Youngho’s stomach.

The redhead looked up, surprised. Instead of doing as told, he smiled at the prince.

“Ah, your Highness, the temperature is comfortable. I don’t feel hot at all. Thanks for your concern, your Highness. Shall we continue?”

Yuta smiled reassuringly at the prince, and God, Youngho knew this was not going to end well.

After some time, the prince's retinue had learnt not to meddle when the prince was with Yuta. They were only there as a mere formality and to guard him. However, they were never to interrupt their interactions, regardless of Yuta’s lack of manners and ignorance about how to behave and act in front of the prince.

Every person in the room held their breaths when the prince stood up and kicked the table away, walking up to Yuta with a sense of foreboding. The redhead gasped when the prince grabbed the front of his robe and tried to pry it open.

“Stop! Your Highness! Please don’t-”

The prince ignored the other’s pleas and easily ripped the fabric apart, exposing Yuta’s chest and shoulders.

Youngho winced internally when he saw the bruises and cuts that littered his skin. There was a particularly nasty-looking bruise on the skin of his ribs, a deep purple mixed with red. It was painful just to look at it. The guard figured Yuta had to have at least one broken rib or something.

Doyoung looked stressed, and rightfully so. The prince had commended Yuta’s welfare to the head of his court.

“Who did this?”

Nobody dared to breathe at the prince’s icy tone.

“I-I fell, y-your Highness. You know I’m a bit clumsy and the palace is so big so-”

Yuta yelped when the prince grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to look at the prince’s eyes.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Youngho felt bad for the Gogish master. Even if Youngho still didn’t understand the prince’s sudden interested in the man with striking red hair and two left feet, it wasn’t like the other had a choice. If the prince wanted to play with him, then there’s nothing he could do; if the prince wanted him to live in the palace then there was no way in hell he could refuse.

Yuta just went with whatever the prince ordered, pretty much like everyone else.

Youngho knew, however, that there were people at the palace who looked down on the Gogish master and felt threatened by his presence. They feared the prince had changed, had gone soft.

“I don’t know, Your Highness.”

“Listen-”

“I-I couldn’t see their faces. I’m not lying, Your Highness. I was just going back to the room I’ve been so gratefully given when some people just attacked me.”

Youngho could feel the storm coming.

“When?”

Yuta looked down. Youngho noticed how the prince’s finger gripped the other’s jaw tighter, forcing Yuta to look at him again.

“Yesterday.”

“It’s not the first time it has happened.”

The guard had guessed the same thing, given by the yellowish bruises that were already fading. There were some cuts whose scabs were already forming. It seemed yesterday’s beating had been the worst. Youngho thought Yuta had been keeping this from the prince in order not to bother him. The attackers saw that the redhead didn’t say anything to the prince and continued attacking him; they knew Yuta wouldn’t rat them out.

Yuta shook his head.

“Since when.”

“Since I was asked to live here,” came the quiet reply.

The prince released his grip on Yuta’s jaw and inspected his face intently. Yuta had gone back to looking at the floor, cheeks red with embarrassment. He uselessly tried to cover himself.

“I-it’s nothing, your Highness. I can still play, please don’t worry. We should-”

Yuta stopped mid-sentence when Jaehyun bent a little and grab the band that was tying his hair. He easily undid the weird-looking bun and let the hair fall down.

Half of his hair had been mercilessly chopped off. The redhead gasped and uselessly tried to tie it back. The strands were quite irregular and some weren’t even long enough to be tied; the guard had no idea how the other had even put it up in a bun in the first place.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called.

Youngho did not want to see what was about to come.

“Your Highness,” Doyoung replied, voice shaking. “I have no wo-”

This time, the force of the slap did send Doyoung stumbling down. Yuta stood immediately and limped towards Doyoung. He helped him stand and sent the prince a surprised look.

“How useless you are,” the prince declared.

“It’s not Doyoung’s fault,” Yuta tried to stand up for the other man. “If I had been more careful-”

“Silence.”

Youngho could feel how damp his back had become. He was sweating buckets and his fingers hurt from grasping his sword’s handle too tightly.

In the room, nobody dared to breathe.

“How shameful. I bring a guest to the palace and this is how you decide to treat him. The people responsible for this have brought dishonour to her Majesty’s name, have brought disgrace to  _ my _ name.”

The prince started walking towards his personal court with careful steps. The prince’s retinue all looked down and bowed when the prince stood in front of them.

“Lift your heads and look at me.”

They all did as told instantly. The prince studied their faces, one by one. His hard stare bored holes into his courtier’s eyes, which were wide with fear.

Once the prince was done, he walked towards the guards who stood up opposite to the retinue.

The prince gave a quick look at Youngho and then slightly lifted his chin. The guard nodded and moved behind the prince, walking with him while the prince studied the faces of his royal guard. Not many people knew the Gogish master was currently staying in the palace, not because it was some sort of secret but rather because the prince didn’t really have to explain himself. The people who actually knew the kind of relationship between the Gogish master and the prince, and had silently witnessed the minimal transformation the prince had undergone, were all currently in the room.

“Look at me,” the prince ordered. The addressed-guard looked up, eyes glazed with unshed tears and mouth trembling.

Youngho sighed internally.

“Grab him.”

The guard captain moved like lightning, not even giving the other guard a chance to unsheathe his sword. He grabbed him by the neck and forced him into a kneeling position.

“Him, too,” the prince said, pointing at a guard standing at the far corner.

“Hyojong, Seunghe,” Youngho’s loud voice resonated into the silent room like thunder.

The guards jumped in to grab the other assaulter, who had tried to flee the room. They grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him into a kneeling position next to the other guard Youngho had apprehended.

The men on the floor were trashing against the guard’s grip to no avail. They were shaking and by the time the prince stood in front of them, they had begun crying.

“Your Highness, please, we did it in your best interest,” one of them vehemently claimed. “We were trying to protect your image. We are loyal to you, your Highness, we swear. We would never do anything that would bring harm to your Highness.”

“This low class man has started to change you, Your Highness. We were only trying to scare him away so you could focus on your duties again. Your Highness, you are such a divine being, this man who can’t even read or write does not deserve all the kindness you have shown him.”

The prince laughed bitterly and unsheathed his own sword.

“Funny how you think you know what is best for me.”

“Your Highness, please,” they pleaded, still trashing. “Please, don’t do this.”

“Your Highness,” Yuta spoke with a trembling voice. Youngho knew he was not dumb enough not to know what was about to happen, and he could see the red-haired man was scared as well. He had never seen the prince like this. “Don’t...don’t kill them. They are good men, they are loyal men, they don’t deserve to die for something like this.”

The prince didn’t even look back at Yuta and just proceeded to take a step towards the kneeling men.

Youngho could feel the warm drops of blood splash on his face when the prince stroke and beheaded the first guard. The collective gasp of the retinue resonated too loudly. The guard removed the dead body at the same time as a second head rolled on the floor.

“If something else happens to my guest, I’ll take it as a personal attack. If I find even a tiny scratch on him, I will have all of your heads. Nobody disrespects me like this in my own palace.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” a chorus of voices sang.

The prince looked towards Doyoung.

“Take him to Taeil. The rest,” he said while looking at the cluster of people who were bowing respectfully. “Clean this.”

And after that, he exited the room.

Well, Youngho mused, that had gone as bad as he had expected.

{-}

“Your Highness,” Doyoung said in a tiny voice. “I swear on my life I will never allow master Yuta to be hurt again. You can count on me, please, let me mend my mistakes.”

The prince looked at his closest courtier from his place on the carriage.

He was set to leave shortly for his annual trip to the mountains. After the incident, the prince had gone back to playing with Yuta as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t murdered two of his best guards on the spot. He had only gone back to playing once Taeil assured him that sitting for many hours wouldn’t worsen Yuta’s injures.

Doyoung hadn’t left Yuta’s side ever since, and even if the red-haired man assured him time after time that none of the things that happened had been his fault, he couldn’t help but feeling like he had failed his Highness. He wasn’t particularly sad with the death of the guards; more importantly to him was the fact that the prince wouldn’t trust him anymore.

Even if before he had doubts regarding Yuta and had, at some point, regretted bringing him to the palace, he now understood just how important the Gogish master had become for his dear prince. He might have not understood just how deep the prince’s mild infatuation ran, but he was sure the man kept the prince in good spirits and, for now, that was enough.

“Keep me updated,” was all the prince replied before giving the signal for departure.

“Will do, Your Highness.”

Yuta was waiting in his own room. Doyoung knew the prince had greeted him goodbye personally and privately a couple of minutes before.

“Can I come in?” Doyoung asked with a slight knock on the door.

“Of course,'' came the cheerful reply.

The red-haired man was sitting on a cushion. He greeted Doyoung with a smile and signalled another cushion in front of him, motioning the other to take a seat.

“Hello, Doyoung, how can I help you?”

Doyoung sat quietly, nervously flattening down the folds of his blue and golden robes. Once he deemed the fabric to be unwrinkled, he looked up, eyes acquiring a timid glint when encountered with Yuta’s honest stare.

“I’m sorry, Yuta. For what happened,” he began. “No please, let me talk,” he asked, raising a hand to prevent Yuta from talking. The other closed his mouth and nodded.

“I should have taken better care of you. You’re important to the prince and I took for granted that you would be safe enough inside of the palace. I knew a lot of people weren't happy with your arrival but I thought nothing of it since...I wasn’t quite happy myself, either. But I didn’t know they would actually act on their feelings. How could I not ensure your safety when the prince purposely put me in charge of you? How could I just brush off such a responsibility, it’s beyond me. I must have been blinded by rage. I thought you were just taking advantage of the prince’s kindness, were toying with him. I now can see your intentions are far from it, and that you’re only here because you happen to be incredibly good at Gogish. Nothing deeper than that. For such assumptions, I apologize.”

Doyoung bowed, then. The hand holding his forehead, however, prevented him from touching the floor with his head.

“No, Doyoung, please. Never bow to me,” Yuta said, helping Doyoung back into a sitting position. Once the other was properly sitting again, Yuta sighed.

“I don’t blame you, Doyoung I never really did. You have more pressing matters than constantly taking care of me, and that I understand. I don’t condone his Highness’ actions, either. He shouldn’t have hit you when you had nothing to do with the attack.”

“I deserved it,” Doyoung assured him. “Actually, I deserved a tougher punishment, his Highness is too merciful. I will not take his kindness for granted. I will take care of you as long as you matter to the prince, Master Yuta. I swear I won’t let anything else happen to you.”

Yuta studied the other man for a second, taking in his resolute face. He knew it was pointless to fight Doyoung, not when the other was so devoted to the prince. He would never change his mind, and Yuta wasn’t trying to, either way.

“Thank you,” was what he answered, trying to leave everything in the past. “Please, don’t call me ‘Master’, it makes me a bit uncomfortable.” He chuckled. “Call me Yuta.”

Doyoung, to Yuta’s utmost surprise, smiled. He had never seen the head of the court smiling before. It truly suited him, he idly thought.

“Of course, Yuta.”

The redhead watched as the other stood up and, once he was done arranging his robe, motioned Yuta to follow him.

“Come, let’s go to the library.”

Yuta flushed.

“Uhm, I don’t know how to read or write. I apologize but I don’t think I’ll be a good companion.”

“That’s why, come with me. I’ll teach you. The prince will be gone for a couple of weeks, how about we send him a letter? I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

When Yuta made no move to stand up, Doyoung frowned.

“Don’t you want to learn?”

“Yes!” Yuta suddenly shouted, standing up in a rapid motion. “I’m sorry, I was stunned for a bit. I’ve always wanted to learn how to read other than the Gogish pieces’ names. Thank you, Doyoung. You’re truly kind.”

The other just rolled his eyes and exited the room, leaving the door opened so Yuta could follow him.

The Gogish master, Doyoung thought while correcting his messy writing, wasn’t that bad.

Yuta let out an enthusiastic yelp when Doyoung complimented one of his syllables.

_ Not bad at all. _

{-}

Jaehyun hadn’t seen Yuta immediately upon his return. He had wanted to wait for a short while so they could meet again as rivals.

The idea of meeting him outside the room in which they played Gogish felt too intimate. It almost felt wrong. The mere thought brought a sense of uneasiness to his heart and he wasn’t sure why, it made the organ accelerate, made the thumping too loud to his liking.

He could still remember how his body had reacted to the simple words Doyoung had taught Yuta to write. It had been a surprise.

_ I’ll be waiting for your return. I look forward to playing Gogish again with you, your Highness. _

_ Yours truly, Yuta. _

The characters were a bit shaky but Jaehyun could see the amount of effort Yuta had put into such a simple sentence. It made him feel strange. A good strange, but strange nonetheless. And if there was something Jaehyun didn’t like at all it was not being in control, not being able to identify the array of emotions he felt.

Maybe Jaehyun would have to kill Yuta.

The root of his recent changes in mood, he could recognize, was Yuta’s fault. The red-haired man made him do lots of uncommon things. Jaehyun wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with how things were. Maybe killing the man would be the best option to halt this unwelcome change within him.

He was aware that he, as the prince, as the heir to the most powerful dynasty that had ever existed, didn’t need to explain himself. His words were the law and his actions unpunishable. Jaehyun was absolute. Nobody could judge his actions or his orders. It had always been like that.

And he would make sure it would remain that way.

Yuta had, somehow, gotten under his skin. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch. It made Jaehyun uncomfortable.

If Jaehyun won at least one Gogish match, Yuta would hand over his life. The perfect solution to the unsolved mess of feelings that Jaehyun couldn’t just ignore. During his trip, he had come up with a successful strategy that will likely result in him winning against the Gogish master. He would beat Yuta, then would kill him and move on with his life as he had always done.

The red-haired man had to die. That was absolute. Jaehyun couldn’t have someone like him in his life, someone who made the prince second-guessed his actions.

Jaehyun had asked Doyoung to arrange their usual room and to bring Yuta there. He would greet his rival as he had always done: playing a Gogish match. And this time, he would win.

The other was already waiting in the room when Jaehyun arrived. As requested, nobody else was in the room. Not even his personal guard. He had asked them to stay outside. He was done playing with a crowd around him. It was suffocating, he felt like he couldn’t totally relax and he needed to be in his best condition.

Jaehyun silently strode towards the board game and sat on his usual cushion.

“Your Highness, welcome.”

Yuta smiled at him, his row of straight teeth coming into view.

Jaehyun studied him for a moment. His hair was tied in a tiny bun on the top of his head. He guessed it had grown enough for a full bun while he was away. He could still clearly remember how everything had become blurry when he undid Yuta’s bun in the past, how his heart had constricted at seeing his long hair almost gone.

Weirdly, the fact that his hair was growing healthily and at a fast pace put him in a good mood.

Not that it would matter when Yuta’s head rolled on the floor, of course.

“As you previously stated, if you lose, your life will be mine to take.”

Yuta nodded calmly, already arranging his pieces on the board.

“That is correct, Your Highness.”

The game began and a comfortable silence settled around them.

Jaehyun’s plan was set into motion when Yuta moved his spy to the centre of the board. It would be hard to go past his defence, his two marshals were at the front after all, but it’s what Jaehyun had been expecting.

By sacrificing two of his puppets, Jaehyun would ensure his monk would get to Yuta’s spy in time to turn it into his own piece. Yuta would be forced to open the first line of defence to let the towers through. An opening would then be created, a perfect open door for Jaehyun’s supporter who had sat inactively at the far corner of the board since the game started.

Yuta’s supporter wouldn’t have enough movements to reach the ruler before Jaehyun held it captive.

Game over.

Once Jaehyun positioned his guard in position, he looked up to see Yuta’s reaction. Jaehyun knew Yuta was beyond smart, he could analyse the outcome of the game the moment his rival moved the first piece.

Gogish was a game of probabilities and strategy. The better your understanding of the pattern and rhythm of your rival, the more your chances at winning increased.

Yuta knew there was no way out, Jaehyun could tell by the stunned expression on his face. Yet, something was off. It didn’t look as if Yuta had realised he had no escape. He looked...moved?

His opponent just sat there, looking at the board for a while before coming back to his senses. Jaehyun felt his heart drop when Yuta sacrificed his own supporter to guard the spy.

Jaehyun’s mind went into overdrive as hundreds of possible outcomes ran through his mind. He hadn't expected Yuta to sacrifice his most important piece.

There was no way out now.

Jaehyun gathered all of his pieces and let them fall from his palm to the board, a sign of resignation.

It was obvious it wasn’t the first time Yuta had seen such a play. It irked him that the other had taken a while to respond when he already knew how to accurately respond to such a complicated strategy.

“You had already seen this play,” Jaehyun spoke, mild irritation laced in his voice. “Why did you hesitate? Are you looking down on me? Wanted to give me a moment of satisfaction before crushing me?”

Yuta shook his head before releasing a shaky breath.

“I could never, your Highness. It’s just…”

“What?”

“That move you made, your Highness. I came up with it, two years ago. I stopped for a moment because I couldn’t believe your Highness had the same idea as me. I must be dreaming, I feel so honoured. It was a popular move and everyone started using it. It wasn’t easy to meet all the conditions needed to develop the play, but if one was able to go through it, it meant your victory was assured. I was proud of such a move but shortly after I figured out how to overcome it. Because the other play became predictable among Gogish masters, I crushed them all, one by one, since they all tried to pull it on me. Nobody ever used it again despite being a majestic move. Few people know how to counterattack such a precise play. The fact that your Highness used the same move fills me with warmth and happiness. In all of my life as a Gogish master, I’ve never encountered such a fine player like your Highness. I could die right now and I’d die happy.”

Yuta spoke with honesty. Jaehyun could see his wide eyes filled with wonder and admiration. His cheeks had acquired a rose tint to them and his mouth couldn’t stop smiling.

It was disgusting.

Why was Yuta so transparent? So naive? It made Jaehyun’s blood boil.

Should Jaehyun kill him on the spot? Should he do it right now? It wouldn’t take long, in the blink of an eye his sword would cut through Yuta’s skin like paper.

“Ridiculous,” was what he said instead of unsheathing his sword. He then started to rearrange the pieces again.

He couldn’t kill Yuta without scoring a victory against him. That would mean Yuta would die being the only person Jaehyun hadn’t been able to defeat. Inconceivable.

Yuta promptly started arranging his pieces when he saw the prince doing it. His wide smile lingered while they continue playing, his eyes becoming crescent-like when Jaehyun made a particularly smart move.

Jaehyun didn’t know what to feel anymore, didn’t know how to deal with Yuta.

The Gogish master was unlike any other person Jaehyun had encountered. So unique and rare.

And, like any rare object that crossed paths with Jaehyun, it seemed he was destined to belong to the prince.

{-}

It wasn’t the first time that it had happened, and the first few times Jaehyun had thought nothing of it. It was only natural, to pay attention to the person whom you were playing with. There was nothing extraordinary about monitoring your adversary’s physical changes. After all, analysing even the smallest of movements was a big part of playing board games.

Body movements told a lot. Playing countless board games had taught him that much.

It was just, Yuta didn’t move much. Jaehyun knew this. He was reserved and controlled in a way Jaehyun had found himself admiring more than once. Granted, the other could be rather clumsy when performing any other activity but when it came down to playing, Yuta remained still like a statue, back and shoulders straight.

The knowledge that Yuta practically didn’t move more than necessary when playing wasn’t new to Jaehyun. And it was precisely because of this that the prince was confused. His eyes kept going toward the Gogish master. And, bitterly, he noticed it weren’t his facial reactions that his eyes were searching for.

It somewhat annoyed him because he didn’t have a proper excuse for what had been going on for a while now. At least he could recognise that.

While playing, Jaehyun couldn’t stop his eyes from travelling to Yuta’s progressively exposed chest.

The prince had noticed how warm it had gotten. His place in the mountains remained cool even in summer given its proximity to the river and to the forest that grew at the feet of the mountains. He hadn’t realised that summer had already arrived until he returned to the palace.

Yuta was wearing a loose robe that seemed to come even looser whenever he moved.

It was distracting.

The other had started to sweat slightly, as well. The strands that weren’t tied in a bun started sticking to his forehead. It also seemed Yuta wasn’t aware how much skin was on display now; he was far too concentrated on the game. From time to time, his elongated fingers would try to uselessly move his hair away from his eyes.

His lips were always red and bitten by the time their matches were over for the day. Jaehyun had grown so much better that now Yuta had to put some effort into playing against him. The dishevelled look that greeted Jaehyun whenever he dismissed Yuta was...alluring.

The subdued heat that was swirling in his low stomach suddenly made sense.

The realisation didn’t hit Jaehyun like a ton of bricks, it felt more like acknowledging something that had already been there. Like officializing a practice that had been long ago carried out.

Jaehyun wanted Yuta. As easy as that.

Jaehyun was a man, after all. A man with needs. Granted, it was difficult to arouse him and he hadn’t been with many people. He grew bored easily and didn’t particularly like being touched. He understood, however, that having someone pleasure him was ten times better than doing it himself.

Again, it was rare for Jaehyun to ask for a one-night companion. It had been long since it had last been with someone. And Yuta was an attractive person, after all, in a rare way.

It was blatantly obvious from his physical appearance that he was a man; his sharp jaw and his Adam’s apple way too prominent to think otherwise. However, his full lips and wide eyes, his slender figure and his delicate fingers were more on the feminine side, giving off an alluring, ethereal, otherworldly feel to the Gogish master.

Jaehyun wanted him. And he would have him.

Jaehyun respected Yuta as a Gogish master. He had already acknowledged the other’s skills were on another level, a level Jaehyun had been trying desperately to reach.

This had nothing to do with Yuta’s abilities as a player.

Jaehyun wanted Yuta because he found him attractive. It was easy and plain as that. Nothing deeper than that.

Although he felt like he was missing something when he asked Doyoung to prepare Yuta for him and to take him to his own bedroom that same night.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

It was the first time Jaehyun could make out the tiniest glimpse of a smile on Doyoung’s face. The head of his court usually wore a distressed and stern look on his face, never really allowing himself to smile around Jaehyun.

Jaehyun wasn’t sure what to make of this. He ignored it, like everything he didn’t feel like understanding or over analyzing.

Once his curiosity and needs were satiated, everything would go back to normal.

He was sure of it.

{-}

“Stop fiddling with your hair, it looks good.”

Yuta immediately lowered his hands.

“I’m sorry, Doyoung. It’s just...doesn’t it look weird? I feel a bit weird. Why must I dress up like this to play Gogish with his Highness?”

The redhead looked down at the delicate robe that covered his body. There was a wide belt wrapped around his waist that felt strange. He wasn’t used to wearing such tight clothes.

Yuta had been bathed by two servants earlier as well. His skin had been scrubbed and his hair washed with oils and soaps that smelled quite good, in Yuta’s opinion.

Doyoung himself had done his hair. He had patiently brushed it and tied in a ponytail. The strands that usually fell over his face had been clipped away, leaving his face bare and visible. The head of the court had also applied some sort of ink to his eyes to make them look bigger.

Yuta knew his eyes were wide; rounder than most of the people in the kingdom at least. Yet with the ink around his eyes, he could barely recognize himself.

“Gogish? Don’t be dumb, Yuta. You are not to play with the prince at this hour. Didn’t Jaemin tell you while he was bathing you?”

Yuta shook his head. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. If he wasn’t to play with his Highness then why else would he be summoned?

Doyoung left a low curse and took a deep breath. Of course.

“Yuta, you have a very important job ahead of you.”

“I do?” Yuta wasn’t good at many things, so he felt anxiety creeping on him at the thought of having a job to do. An important one, according to Doyoung. “But-”

“Your Highness wants to spend the night with you. Alone. And not playing Gogish.”

Yuta’s mind went blank. Not playing Gogish? Yuta had no other ability that could entertain the prince, so he didn’t see why he-

Oh.

_ Oh. _

He flushed immediately.

“Is that...is that okay with you?” Doyoung asked hesitantly, putting a hand on Yuta’s shoulder. Doyoung knew it was rather pointless to ask. Whether Yuta was okay with or not, the prince’s orders were absolute. He guessed he had asked to relieve his mind. If Yuta wasn’t opposed to it then...then it wouldn’t be so bad.

Yuta nodded slowly, eyes glued to the floor.

That had been a first. Nobody had ever asked Yuta whether all of the things he had to go through were to his liking. Nobody ever asked him what he wanted, if he was okay with the things that were happening.

He didn’t particularly care, if he were to be honest. There was no greater honour than constantly being in the presence of his Highness. Everything else was just a small price that Yuta was more than willing to pay.

Somehow, the prince had given his existence a reason; to him, a nobody who could do nothing but play Gogish. He had found himself again within the walls of the palace. He had been born for this.

And it wasn’t with submission that Yuta accepted it. The prince was everything to him, an admirable rival who had pushed Yuta like nobody else had, who had made him fall in love again with the game. It was only a question of time before Yuta willingly gave his life away to the prince.

He knew the prince felt admiration towards him, and nothing else. And it was okay, he would never, ever, ask for more. He had already received too much. There was no way in heaven he could ever repay the unpayable debt the prince had, unknowingly, bestowed upon him. It would take hundreds of lifetimes before he could be blessed with such luck again.

And it was okay. To be doomed to unhappiness and suffering for thousands of years, just to have some time filled with the prince’s presence. It was worth it. I would always be worth it.

“Then let’s go.”

Doyoung guided him to the prince’s room and, after giving him a reassuring smile, disappeared around the corner of the hall.

“Come in,” came a deep voice from inside the room when Yuta shyly knocked on the door.

He took a deep breath and opened the door, quietly closing it behind him as he entered the room.

“Come here.”

The prince was sitting in the middle of the bed, a light robe covered his body.

It was strange to see him like this, so bare. Yuta had grown used to seeing the prince in opulent clothes, always pristine and unwrinkled. His hair was always tied in a tidy and tight bun under a red and white headdress.

He looked relaxed, younger even, without all the heavy fabrics draped across his body. His black hair was untied as well; the short strands that framed his face looked damp. It seemed he had taken a bath not too long ago.

“Your Highness,” Yuta greeted him when he walked over the prince and stood in front of him. He performed a slight bow and stood still.

“Come closer.”

The prince grabbed him by the hips when Yuta was within reach. The red-haired man let out a yelp when the prince moved him between his legs.

“Let me look at you.”

Yuta lifted his gaze. His eyes were staring back at the prince.

The prince observed him for a moment, his eyes travelling from the others’ eyes, to his nose, his cheeks, his lips, his covered shoulders. There wasn’t an inch of Yuta left unseen.

“Touch me.”

Yuta’s eyes widened when the prince suddenly opened his robe, his marvellous skin coming into view.

The other didn’t open the robe the whole way, just lazily loosened the ribbon that held the piece of fabric. His chest came into view, right up to his navel. Since his legs were spread the fabric there was pushed aside as well, leaving his thighs naked.

Yuta hesitantly put his hands around the prince’s naked shoulder. He quickly sneaked a glance towards the other, testing his reaction. To be honest, Yuta had no idea what to do. He had never laid with a person before and he was so painfully inexperienced he feared he wouldn’t be able to comply with the prince’s request and expectations.

Yuta slowly massaged the muscles there; thin fingers digging into the prince’s skin. Ever so slowly, he began tracing the shape of the prince’s toned arms. With his thumb, he caressed the other’s inner upper arm. When he got to his elbow, he went back to his shoulders and slid his palms over his chest, eyes marvelling at the hardened muscled there.

Prince Jaehyun was so unbelievably beautiful, Yuta knew no amount of hours would be enough to completely take in his beauty.

The prince let out a sigh when Yuta’s hands skidded over his lower stomach.

Yuta’s heart was pounding in his ears, and he could feel himself getting aroused just by touching the prince’s ethereal body. He took a deep breath and lowered his hand, reaching between the prince’s legs.

Yuta was surprised when he realised that the prince was already half-hard. The prince released a soft groan when the Gogish master started hesitantly running his fingers all along his length.

The red-haired man’s fingers were warm and they felt incredibly good wrapped around Jaehyun’s girth. The prince could tell the other was inexperienced yet it didn’t make the whole thing less pleasurable. If only, the knowledge that Yuta was most likely a virgin and had never even touched someone else before had the prince trembling in desire.

It was rather senseless to feel so happy about such a thing, but it made the prince’s heart race; to know he was the first person ever to have been touched by Yuta’s long and delicate fingers.

The prince would see it remain that way as well.

The surprised gasp that left Yuta’s trembling lips when the prince wrapped his hand over Yuta’s echoed loudly in the room. The prince patiently taught Yuta how to touch him, he guided his fingers, prompting him to rub the head of his cock, to cover his whole length and to move his hand up and down.

The prince hummed appreciatively when Yuta collected the precum that had started leaking from his tip and used it to slicken the friction.

It didn’t take long for the prince to be brought to the edge. Yuta wasn’t only a quick learner, he was also eager to please the prince so he started experimenting on his own; his fingers fondled the prince’s balls and he pressed his thumb on the slit as well, rubbing painfully slow.

He had started to use his two hands as well, trying to bring as much pleasure as possible to the prince.

Jaehyun bucked his hips up, a sign he was close. Yuta registered the prince’s change in breathing and how his body was reacting to his ministrations. He could tell the other was close, his groans had started getting louder and precum was leaking out of his dick nonstop.

It was with a low growl that the prince came, spilling all over Yuta’s hands that continued milking him to the last drop. The prince pried Yuta’s hands away when he became too sensitive, his dick already starting to soften.

For a moment, neither of them spoke a word. The prince was recovering his breath and Yuta was watching with fascination the semen that covered his fingers.

“Clean me up,” was the first thing the prince said, snapping Yuta out of his stupor.

Yuta nodded and hurriedly moved towards the bedside table where some towels and a bowl with warm water had been prepared earlier. He soaked the towel with water and went back to the prince, who had completely discarded his robe.

The red-haired man kneeled in front of the prince and, with the utmost care, started cleaning him. He rubbed the wet towel between Jaehyun’s toned thighs and on his abdomen. As delicately as possible, he wiped the prince’s cock, trying not to distress the other’s sensitive state.

Once he was done, Yuta stood up and cleaned his own fingers.

He stood there, towel in hand, without knowing what else to do.

“You are dismissed.”

Yuta nodded and bit his lip as a mild sense of disappointment sunk into his belly. He wanted to be with the prince some more. He wanted...to touch him more.

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

And as silently as he had come, he exited the room.

{-}

Yuta’s nightly visits to the prince didn’t interfere at all with their games.

The Gogish master had expected as much. Nothing much had changed, except that now, it was only the two of them playing the board game in the room. Not even Doyoung was allowed to be inside.

The prince continued being as silent as always, all of his focus was directed to the game. And Yuta loved it, that the prince was as invested as him in the game. He had gotten so much better, Yuta was surprised.

The prince had developed his own unpredictable style of playing, and more than once had caught Yuta off guard. It was with relief that he welcomed such unusual attacks, they forced Yuta out of his comfort zone and pressured him to find new ways of deflecting such attacks.

Oh, how much Yuta enjoyed playing with the prince. He knew he was good at Gogish, he took pride in being such a fine player, hence, he knew it was almost impossible to beat him. Some time ago, Yuta had resigned himself to never finding a real challenge. He had advanced so much in the game thanks to the mighty opponents he had encountered. Yet, when he had defeated them all, there was no more room for growth.

How could he become better when nobody forced him to use his abilities to their best capacity? It saddened him; that he would no longer get better at the game he loved so much, that he wouldn’t be able to evolve.

That had been before being summoned to the palace.

The prince had proved himself to be a force not to be recklessly reckoned with. The prince was everything Yuta had been waiting for his whole life. The one challenger that would help him turn his abilities up a notch. The one who would help him grow beyond limits.

It was natural, then, that Yuta fell for the prince. Nothing surprising.

He wasn’t only fortunate enough to have the honour of playing against the prince, but he was also blessed with the chance to bring pleasure to him. Yuta could die at any moment of his life and he wouldn’t have a single regret, would leave the world happy and satisfied, a content smile on his face.

He would embrace death like an old friend.

At first, after the first night, Yuta had thought the prince wouldn’t be calling him any time soon. That he had already satisfied his curiosity and things would move on as if nothing had happened.

That was why he felt surprised when Doyoung knocked at his door the day after he had gone to the prince’s room. He even found it weird that Doyoung had assimilated everything quite naturally. He didn’t seem surprised, had even laughed at Yuta’s baffled expression when he saw the head of court on his door again, materials in his hands.

After that, the prince had begun requesting him almost every night. Nights which demanded all of the prince’s concentration, full of royal tasks and foreign treaties, were the nights that Yuta would wait expectantly on his room only to be met by a cold silence. No knocking. No Doyoung with a playful smile wiggling his eyebrows at him. A _ princeless _ night.

During those nights, Yuta noticed, it was hard for him to sleep soundly.

Once, the Gogish master hadn’t been called to the royal chambers for an entire week. He continued playing with the prince all noon and evening, though. Their matches were never put off. Yet, Yuta felt empty. It wasn’t enough, not anymore at least, just playing with the prince. He wanted to touch him, to marvel at his body, to make him feel pure bliss.

How selfish Yuta had become, how needy. Deep in his heart, he prayed his greedy desires wouldn’t meet punishment. He had once, after all, been happy enough to just play with the prince. Had declared it was enough for him, had promised he wouldn’t ask for more.

And there he was, anxiety and desire growing like a vine in his heart, carelessly looking past all of Yuta’s concerns, extending its leaves all over his body, until they reached his lungs and throat; and then Yuta wouldn’t be able to breathe properly.

The vine died when Yuta was summoned again by the prince after a long week, a week that had felt like ages.

The prince had been expecting him, like always. He was on his bed, and this time around no robe to be seen. He sat on his finely threaded sheets in all his naked glory. His usual neutral face made Yuta’s heart thumped loudly in his chest. He would never grow tired of being in the presence of such a sublime person.

Yuta could breathe again, and he felt relieved,  _ so relieved _ , he decided he needed to let the prince know just how much Yuta had missed him. How eagerly Yuta had waited to be summoned again. How much Yuta enjoyed bringing pleasure to the prince.

He had started, under the prince’s expectant gaze, with a kiss to his abdomen. He let his lips linger on the skin, making a trail of kisses right up to his navel. He went lower, then, licking all the skin on the way.

Yuta had heard the prince’s hitched breath when he kissed the other’s cock. When he had timidly licked all over the length, when he had suckled on the tip, tongue working circles on the head, when he had bravely opened his mouth to take as much as possible.

The red-haired man was aware his technique wasn’t exactly dripping in finesse, that it was rather clumsy. He couldn’t have cared less, though; not when the prince had softly put a hand at the base of his neck and had encouraged Yuta to keep going, satisfied moans spilling from his lips.

He swallowed everything the prince had to give, collecting everything in his mouth with his tongue. Yuta wiped his chin with his fingers and had licked them clean as well.

The prince had looked a bit out of it, watching Yuta eat cum,  _ his _ cum, from his fingers like he had been feasting on the world’s best honey.

It had never happened before, but that night Yuta had stayed longer, pleasuring the prince over and over, until the other grew too sensitive, too exhausted from having come too many times.

As Yuta moved his spy to the centre of the board, he mused that it hadn’t been long since that night. After that, he had started using his mouth more and more so he could improve his technique. His goal, as it always had been, was to try and pleasure the prince to the maximum.

And even now, while he patiently waited for the prince to make his next move, he was thinking of all the things he could do for the other.

Yuta smiled when he noticed the prince scrunching his nose, and his heart pounded energetically inside of his ribcage. He no longer dreaded that thumping that told him his feelings were anything by platonic.

He welcomed it.

He now belonged to the prince, even if the prince didn’t belong to him.

Yuta wouldn’t have it any other way.

{-}

The itch had always been there, silently lurking around his mind. That was why it didn’t come as a surprise to Jaehyun when he finally put a name to that mild craving plaguing his thoughts.

It wasn’t as if he had wanted to acknowledge it before, rather, he hadn’t been interested enough to entertain the idea. It had crossed his mind, yet it had never been a solid enough craving to see to it.

Now, though,  _ now  _ such an idea was pounding insistently in his mind. A first. Jaehyun wasn’t one to have random cravings, contrary to his people’s beliefs. He wasn’t the kind of spoilt prince that demanded random things at dawn. His inner desires never went beyond objects or actions that would help him prove his worth and would elevate his image.

Nothing was really for him but rather for the path he was building. He needed to be the best at everything. He needed to prove he was fit to carry the crown his mother so proudly wore. They were big shoes, the ones he needed to fill, and so he couldn’t allow any distraction that deviated from his objective of becoming the otherworldly being he had been born to be.

All of his actions were with purpose, like bricks that he would pile one over the other in order to raise a castle.

Until Yuta.

Jaehyun had thought his first slip up had been summoning him to his room at night. It ceased being like that when he realised that having Yuta pleasuring him at night made him more productive since the red-haired man milked his stress away.

Given that he found a use for his initial curiosity, he could now say in earnest that he was about to slip up for the first time.

Because no matter how many times he thought about it, there was actually nothing to profit from if he kissed Yuta.

The realisation wasn’t enough to quench the thirst in him, Jaehyun acknowledged.

There was no purpose to what he was about to do. Rather, it wasn’t as if there was no purpose whatsoever, there was nothing to gain. Kissing the Gogish master wouldn’t bring him any kind of satisfaction he wasn’t already getting, and it wouldn’t make him win the game either.

Why, then, did Jaehyun feel so tempted to just trap the red-haired man’s bottom lip between his own? 

He just knew he couldn't look at Yuta biting his lip in concentration without wanting to do the same.

Fortunately, he had managed to refrain himself from carrying out his desire. Even if he wanted to do it, then what? Kiss him a little and then continue playing as if Jaehyun hadn’t asked the other man to engage in quite an intimate activity? Jaehyun had more self-control than that; he guessed he would eventually grow out of the stupid thought unrelentingly coursing through his mind.

He was good at keeping a straight face regardless of the turmoil inside of him.

“That was an amazing counterattack, your Highness. You have improved enormously. As expected of the heir to the greatest dynasty.”

Yuta wasn’t generous of his compliments. At first, he had told Jaehyun he feared he would come across as condescending for complimenting the prince even if he didn’t win. The prince had said that he didn’t like empty compliments and that Yuta was allowed to compliment him as long as it was sincere and not only to please the other.

Since then, Jaehyun had heard a couple of genuine compliments from the Gogish master. Not many, but enough to realise it wasn’t all lies. Yuta, sometimes, seemed truthfully surprised by Jaehyun’s moves.

It wasn’t completely rare, then, to have Yuta complementing his skills. It wasn’t something Jaehyun hadn’t experienced. Yet somehow, this time around, when Jaehyun looked up and found Yuta gifting him an enthusiastic smile, he felt something was different. It wasn’t the same.

Yuta’s teeth were in full display, pearly white and the straightest Jaehyun had ever seen.

“Come here,” he found himself saying.

“Pardon me, Your Highness? Here, where?” Yuta asked, looking around. Fair enough, given that Yuta was in the same room as well as sitting just one metre across from him.

“Here,” Jaehyun repeated, making a motion with his fingers that indicated he wanted Yuta closer to him.

The Gogish master slowly stood up, uncertainty written on his face. It was with hesitant steps that he approached the prince, kneeling next to him.

“What is it, your Highness? Have I done something to upset you?”

Jaehyun studied the other’s face for a short moment, the way his lips were partially parted, shiny from where Yuta had licked them. His hair had been clipped away, so his forehead was clear. His huge eyes were staring at him, preoccupied.

It felt like a band that has been stretched too far finally snapping when Jaehyun suddenly grabbed Yuta’s forearm and pulled him closer to him.

Yuta let out a surprised yelp at the sudden action, noise promptly silenced by Jaehyun’s lips on his own.

Jaehyun felt him freeze against him, lips still. It didn’t last long, though, because soon enough Jaehyun could feel the other starting to move his lips against his own.

It was a strange sensation, the lip to lip contact, Jaehyun mused. It was...pleasant. But not enough. He suddenly felt eager to feel more, and Yuta felt too far from him. In an effort to change this, Jaehyun broke from the kiss for a moment so he could manhandle the Gogish master onto his lap.

Yuta settled comfortably on him, not wasting a second to reconnect their lips once again. This time, with Jaehyun’s hands roaming Yuta’s back and sides and with the other’s hands in Jaehyun’s nape and hair, the prince felt that things were starting to fall into place. The new, intimate position in which the two men were in didn’t make Jaehyun recoil, it didn’t make him uncomfortable.

Kissing Yuta, no matter what the scrupulous side of his brain thought, was an amazing experience. One worth going through, even if it brought no benefit at all. It didn’t help Jaehyun in his quest for perfection, nor did it provide something he could use to level himself up. It was pointless.

But it didn’t matter, not when Yuta was making such alluring noises every time Jaehyun’s fingers dug into the other’s skin, trying to desperately find an opening in the robes so they could touch Yuta’s skin.

When Yuta timidly licked Jaehyun’s bottom lip, the prince opened up, welcoming the other’s tongue. It was so satisfying, to rub his tongue against Yuta’s, to bring him closer and closer so there wasn’t any space left between their bodies. It brought a different sense of gratification. 

Jaehyun groaned when Yuta caught his tongue and suckled slowly, the other’s tongue rubbing underneath his own. He was starting to get aroused, and he could tell Yuta was too, if the barely concealed movements of his hips were anything to go by.

It surprised Jaehyun just how responsive Yuta was, how easily he had opened up for the prince.

And Jaehyun didn’t exactly know how much time they sat there, kissing and touching each other, but at the moment he was called to perform his duties, Yuta’s lips were swollen and his hair quite dishevelled from Jaehyun’s insistent caresses.

Even if he had piles and piles of documents to sign, his mind was already looking forward to Yuta’s arrival late at night. While Jaehyun systematically approved some documents or discarded others, images of Yuta started filling his mind. His hand moved automatically over the documents, dipping the royal seal in ink and then carefully stamping it on paper. Within a few minutes, he was done.

Doyoung, who had been silently standing behind him, collected the papers and took them away. His duties were far from finished, he still had a couple of meetings to attend, and time, for once, seemed to slow down. Every minute he spent sitting down discussing different matters with the counsellors, seemed like an eternity.

It was so odd, Jaehyun couldn’t remember a time in which he had felt so… _ eager. _

And when finally the evening bled into the night and Yuta knocked on his door, Jaehyun could feel his heart falling into a peaceful rhythm. He wouldn’t exactly be able to point out the exact moment in which Yuta had become something more than just the Gogish master he wanted to crush. Jaehyun did want to win against him, though, that flame hadn’t died; if anything, it had only grown into an unstable fire. But it wasn’t the only thing Jaehyun wanted from Yuta, a victory; now, he wanted more.

He welcomed Yuta into his lap once again when the redhead walked towards him.

Jaehyun couldn't find a reason as to why he hadn’t touched Yuta before, why had he let the other man do all the work while he passively enjoyed. Yuta’s robe was thinner than the one he was using earlier and so it came undone quite easily.

Jaehyun marvelled at Yuta’s slim body, his skin that erupted in goosebumps whenever the prince’s fingers caressed it, and the many quiet sounds that spilled from his lips. Jaehyun kissed him again, passionately. He grabbed Yuta by the nape and tilted his head in an effort to deepen the kiss.

The loud grumble that came deep within Jaehyun’s chest when Yuta rolled his bare hips against the other ricocheted off the room. The red-haired man let out a surprised noise when Jaehyun suddenly shifted their positions and laid him on his back in the middle of the bed. Shortly after Jaehyun climbed on top of him and instead of resuming their kissing, he glued his lips on Yuta’s neck and licked the skin there.

Their chests touched when Yuta’s back arched off the bed when Jaehyun sucked the juncture between his neck and his collarbones. It was so wild, to have the prince touching and kissing him so intimately.

Jaehyun continued his ministrations, mouth going lower and lower until he trapped one of Yuta’s nipples between his lips and sucked with purpose. Yuta’s hips rose from the bed and rubbed against Jaehyun’s leg at the sudden action.

He was hard already, and by the small wet spot he could feel in his leg, precum had started oozing from him.

“I want you,” Jaehyun whispered seductively once he detached his lips from Yuta’s sensitive nipple and brought them to Yuta’s ear shell.

“I’m yours,” Yuta said, desperation dripping from his voice. “Take me, please, your Highness. Do whatever you want with me, I’m all yours.” Each of his words was accentuated with his hips frantically seeking friction against Jaehyun’s leg. Yuta would lose his sanity if the prince didn’t touch him more, if he didn’t do anything about his predicament.

It was all Jaehyun needed to hear, cock twitching and pupils dilated before he reached towards his bedside table and retrieved a small vial with a thick substance in it.

Jaehyun would take all of Yuta, would greedily grab everything the other had to offer. Would leave him empty so nobody else could take something from him, would only leave Yuta full of him.

Because Yuta belonged to the prince now. Yuta belonged to the prince in all senses of the word, physically and emotionally.

Yuta, Jaehyun was sure, had been born just to be with him.

{-}

Jaehyun knew this day would come. He had been preparing for it his whole life, he knew what to expect. Such a notion never spurred any kind of emotions in him, after all, it was all business. A step needed to achieve his ultimate goal.

He had always imagined himself in such a situation, knew the words his mother would say, knew what he had to say back. A lifetime rehearsal he knew like the palm of his hand.

And given such preparation, it was odd that the final announcement actually ignited something within him. A feeling of restlessness that he really didn’t want to acknowledge.

“Don’t worry, son,” Her Majesty said, a small smile painted in his blood red coated lips. “We will bring candidates from all along the kingdom and from the neighbouring kingdoms as well. I’m sure you will find what you’re looking for in one of them.”

“Of course, mother. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Don’t be silly, my boy. I only want what’s best for my future king. It’s a mother’s duty to see that her only son marries well.”

“Yes, mother.”

Bo Ah just smiled again and took a drink from her cup.

The two were currently alone in one of the queen’s resting rooms, drinking some tea and discussing Jaehyun’s upcoming marriage.

“Those Gogish games... how are they going? Won one yet? I’ve heard the little red-haired master had been putting up a good fight.”

Inadvertently, Jaehyun tensed.

“Not yet, mother, but I will soon win. You raised a winner, your Majesty. I would never disappoint you.”

The queen studied her son for a short moment, taking in his features and graceful pose. She grinned, then, a smile that made Jaehyun’s toes curl with something nasty. A smile that made all of Jaehyun’s alarms go off.

“You are right, Jaehyun. You would never disappoint me.”

“Never,” he repeated with finality.

Jaehyun’s body tensed again when his mother rose from her seat and approached him. He felt her icy fingers curl around his jaw, forcing him to look up.

“My beautiful Jaehyun, so perfect,” she whispered, stroking her son’s skin with one of her long nails. “Never forget who you are destined to be, the greatest king the world has seen. I’ve raised this entire empire for you. Everything I did, I did it for you, my son. I know you will never do anything stupid, my little Jaehyun, so smart and level-headed. After all, I raised you myself, I know you better than anyone else. You better remember that, my precious boy.”

Jaehyun held his mother’s gaze. He saw himself reflected in her dark iris, in her sharp features, in her sharp-edged teeth, in her cold stare, in her insincere smile. Her mother’s love had always felt like whiplash to him, always on the verge of cutting him but never pressing the knife too forcefully. Always keeping him at bay, with enough freedom to forget the leash around his neck.

Queen Bo Ah, whose only son had been the only person she loved. Jaehyun knew this, had believed for a couple of years he could feel it. A love that stemmed from power and the desire to have everything under control. A love that had been taught to Jaehyun and that had been exercised by him as well. The only kind of love which didn’t hurt.

“Of course, mother. I could never forget.”

{-}

Once he was left to his own devices, Jaehyun wondered why the news of his upcoming marriage left such a bitter taste in his mouth when previously it didn’t elicit any reaction from him. He had made peace with the fact that he was to share his life with someone he barely knew, with someone he would never grow to love, just like his mother had never loved his father.

There was something he was surely missing, something that made him, even if only for a second, rethink everything he had been taught to be. His spouse was to be from a wealthy family, from a dynasty that would only cement his own, that would help him spread his influence. He should have been, perhaps not happy, but satisfied at least. Marrying would mean he would be one step closer to achieving his ultimate goal.

However, whenever he closed his eyes, whenever his mind drifted away to the future, all he could see was red and a Gogish board. It had never happened before but the moment he was forced to think about his future days,  _ redless _ and Gogishless, for some reason his future coloured in black and white hues. The knowledge that his time with Yuta would soon be shortened brought nothing but an empty feeling to his stomach.

“You must be happy, Your Highness. You’re one step closer to becoming king,” Doyoung had said when he found out about his upcoming marriage.

It was a strange word.

Happy. Being happy.

He had never stopped to think if he was happy, had never been asked if he was happy. How was he to know what happiness felt like? Nobody in the palace talked about being happy. Until Yuta arrived, that was. Jaehyun had never heard that word being mentioned that many times prior to Yuta’s appearance.

The red-haired man said that word so carelessly, always saying how happy he was to play with Jaehyun, how happy Gogish made him, how happy he felt whenever he was summoned by the prince at night. Happy, happy, happy.

Jaehyun kept hearing that word, yet he still couldn’t wrap his head around the concept.

Was Jaehyun happy? Was there something that made him happy? Becoming king had always felt like a duty to him, or maybe something that was bound to happen. Something that had already been decided, something he didn’t have to look forward to because Jaehyun knew he would eventually become one. Did the idea of becoming the world’s mightiest ruler make him happy?

“You always say you’re happy,” Jaehyun stated the next time he faced Yuta in a Gogish game. “What does that mean?”

He had already indulged in his desires, might as well go big on it.

Yuta stopped to think for a moment. Fortunately, Yuta had grown used to Jaehyun’s random questions, so Jaehyun needn’t worry about the other asking why on earth he was musing about happiness of all things.

“It means that I feel light,” Yuta started, looking up towards the ceiling as if he would find the answer there. “That I don’t think about sad things, that I enjoy the moment I’m living in. Being happy makes me realise I am alive, makes me realise that I’m living. I don’t know if that makes sense, Your Highness,” he apologized with a small smile when he turned his gaze back to the prince. “It’s just, it fills me with joy, it’s a feeling I treasure and that I’m constantly looking forward to being enveloped by. I actively search to feel happy.”

“Sounds complicated,” Jaehyun said in a monotonous voice.

Yuta laughed at that, eyes twinkling with mirth.

“I think I can describe it but I can’t explain it. It’s something you have to feel for yourself to understand, your Highness.”

Jaehyun nodded, acknowledging Yuta’s explanation but didn’t comment any further on the topic, he just motioned the other to resume the game.

While playing, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Yuta had said. What made him feel alive? What made him feel like he was living? Did the idea of becoming king make his blood thrum? The short-lived experiences that bring him entertainment, such as winning over his enemies, could they be considered happiness?

Was this concept something that was inexplicably human? If Jaehyun didn’t feel happiness, did that mean he wasn’t human? After all, he had always been told he was a celestial being, an heir above everything and everyone. He was not to be compared to regular people, and Jaehyun had vehemently believed that. From the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, the whole palace was at his feet. There was no one who could come close to how perfect Jaehyun was.

Yet, if he actually were the perfect creature all around him claimed him to be, why then, couldn’t he defeat Yuta?

Did that put Yuta on the same level as him? A being so unreachable that not even Jaehyun could graze him with his fingers. What was Yuta’s purpose? Why was he someone Jaehyun just couldn’t beat?

It occurred to Jaehyun that Yuta had been the only person to hold his interest for so long, a never-ending supply of entertainment. The most confusing part was that Yuta kept being some sort of mystery to Jaehyun, one he desperately wanted to solve. Even if he could have him during the nights, and spent most of the daylight time with him, it felt as if Jaehyun would never grow tired of being with him, of trying to figure him out.

Jaehyun, for once, didn’t mind. He didn’t care about not knowing everything about the red-haired man, he just wanted to be with him. For a long time.

And when he laid later at night with Yuta secured in his arms sleeping soundly, Jaehyun understood why his stomach had fallen in such a bitter manner when his mother announced he was to be married soon.

Because getting married meant Yuta wouldn’t have anymore space in his life.

{-}

Jaehyun had read about love, about how it felt like. Thousands of people had tried to explain it, to illustrate it, to perpetuate the idea in different ways: paintings, writings, sculptures. Jaehyun could comprehend the idea but he wasn’t sure he had actually felt what love was. He also knew there different types of love: agape, eros, philia, storge, pragma, and some other ones. Even with such a vast array, Jaehyun knew he hadn’t actually experienced any of those.

The only sort of love he was familiar with, at least, was motherly love. However, love from his mother felt too constricting, too overwhelming in its limitations, too demanding. He was no expert in the area but even he could recognize it wasn’t the kind of love people would want to brag about.

“Have you ever been in love?” Jaehyun asked Yuta.

The other froze, hand still tightly clutching his spy. Yuta took his time to place the piece on the board.

“Why the sudden question, Your Highness?” was what Yuta said instead of answering.

“You know I will likely get married in a couple of months,” Jaehyun explained nonchalantly, evaluating his next move. “It’s written everywhere that I should love my future spouse. I don’t think I know what that feels like.”

The Gogish master furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

“Well, the kingdom did throw a big party to celebrate your upcoming marriage, your Highness. I am pretty sure whoever ends up being your spouse will be the luckiest person on earth.”

“Why?” Jaehyun asked at the same time he moved his supporter away from Yuta’s trap. Yuta was always saying how lucky he felt, how he could never ask for more because he already had everything he wished for. Jaehyun understood Yuta was in a privileged position, he could spend his hours with the prince and share his bed at night. Currently, Yuta was, objectively speaking, the luckiest person in the entire kingdom. Would Jaehyun’s future spouse trade that place with Yuta?

“Because this person will get to call you theirs, your Highness,” Yuta answered in a small voice, eyes analysing the flow of the game.

“You never answered my other question.”

Yuta looked up from the board and locked his gaze with the prince’s.

“Yes, I have, your Highness.”

“How did that feel?”

“How _ does  _ that feel, your Highness. I’m in love with someone I cannot have,” Yuta said honestly. “But it’s okay, I have already accepted that. I can now only be happy because I get to spend time with this person. I guess that’s what being in love means.”

“Is it enough for you?”

“It has to be, I can’t bring myself to wish for more.”

Yuta blinked in surprise when Jaehyun banged his fists on the board. The pieces rolled down to the floor and the board remained askew on the table. The red-haired man blinked, confused by the prince’s reaction.

When Yuta lifted his gaze he found Jaehyun glaring at him.

“You’re always like this, it sickens me,” Jaehyun said through gritted teeth. “Always saying you don’t deserve more, always just passively accepting things, never striving for more.”

Yuta’s eyes widened at the unexpected statement.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, it’s just-”

“You’re always apologizing,” Jaehyun cut him. When he stood up and walked towards Yuta, the other recoiled, stunned by such an abrupt motion.

Yuta’s neck was strained from where the prince had forced him to look up at him.

“Who is this person who you think wouldn’t return your love, who makes you feel this way?” Yuta could barely talk given how tightly the prince was grabbing him by the jaw. “Why can’t you be more ambitious?”

And Yuta, since he had gotten to the palace, felt something akin to fear. If he told the truth, he was sure he would never be allowed to play with the prince again. But he couldn't lie to him, Yuta had never been good at lying. He was always honest and open with the prince and he didn’t actually like telling lies to him.

However, this time around the situation was different.

“Answer me,” Jaehyun pressed, impassive.

“It’s you, Your Highness. I am in love with you,” Yuta managed to say in a shaky voice. When Jaehyun let him go, he coughed. He stared at the prince and fear and anxiety quickly filled his eyes. The prince stood in front of him, staring down at him as if he was seeing Yuta for the first time.

“Please, I promise I won’t do anything, all I want is to play with you, your Highness. Please, don’t push me away, I’m so sorry,” Yuta begged. He tried to fight the tears that blurred his vision, tried to swallow the lump in his throat. His Highness hated weakness, yet there was Yuta, at the verge of crying because he feared he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the prince again.

“You love me?”

Yuta nodded while tears overflowed from his eyes. He rapidly wiped them with the sleeve of his robe.

“I do, Your Highness. How could I not? You’ve given my life purpose, you made me fall in love with the game I once loved with all my might all over again. You showed me life is kind and that I have value. How could I not fall for you, Your Highness.”

“You love me,” Jaehyun repeated, still staring at Yuta. “You love someone like me.”

And it was weird because Jaehyun had heard those words coming out of his mother’s lips before, but they had never moved him, had never provoked any kind of reaction. So why, when Yuta had said them, did Jaehyun feel like his whole body was alight? His pulse was kicking and he could swear his heart was trying to claw its way out of his chest.

It was a sensation he had never felt before, a brand new experience he didn’t know how to label. His ears were ringing and he felt like he couldn’t think straight.

“You love me,” he repeated, softer this time. He took a step towards Yuta and kneeled in front of him. He wiped Yuta’s tears away for him.

It was amazing how even with tears falling from his eyes and cheeks red from embarrassment Yuta still managed to look beautiful. This impossibly gorgeous person loved him and was willing to do anything just so he could remain by his side.

Was that it?

What happiness felt like? Jaehyun had never felt more alive in whole life, nothing had ever even come close to making his soul vibrate the way Yuta had. Euphoric, a feeling like a star exploding inside of him, swallowing everything around it until there was nothing left. Just Yuta.

It felt as if his whole life had come down to just that moment. Nothing had filled him with more joy than knowing he was loved by someone as extraordinary as Yuta.

_ “...it’s a feeling I treasure and that I’m constantly looking forward to being enveloped by. I actively search to feel happy.” _

“If you love me,” Jaehyun started, heart beating like crazy and mind going into overdrive, “would you leave everything for me?”

“I already have.”

It felt wrong, it still felt uncomfortable. There was something that was still bothering Jaehyun, and he couldn’t understand why. Yuta had just surrendered his life for him, and it wasn’t enough. There was something missing.

Something he had never brought himself to think about.

Something so intimate the sole idea of it left him breathless.

“Say my name,” Jaehyun ordered impatiently.

“Your Highness, I could never.”

“Say my name,” Jaehyun asked again, kneeling in front of Yuta. “Please.”

“I-” Yuta hesitated, looking into the prince's desperate eyes. He had never watched the prince like this, and the Gogish master didn’t like it a bit. He would do everything to erase such an awful looking expression on the other’s face, he would do anything for the man who was currently looking at him with a look he never thought would come his way.

Fondness.

“Jaehyun,” he muttered, breathless.

“Yes,” the prince said, cupping Yuta’s face in his palms. “That’s my name.”

{-}

“Doyoung?”

“Your Highness! It’s really late, what are you doing up? Tomorrow we have an early schedule, we have to set off to find-”

“Doyoung, can I ask you for a favour?”

“A-ask me a favour? Your Highness, please, I would do anything for you.”

“Thank you, Doyoung.”

{-}

The palace had always been a rather silent place, where hushed voices and doors sliding were the loudest of noises. Queen Bo Ah and Prince Jaehyun had always preferred it that way and that had been enough to have a cushioning blanket fall all over the place. It felt as if a spell had fallen all over it, a wicked witch who had decided to curse the building with a lethal death to any who disrupted the quietness.

A spell that had been broken by the sound of boots rapidly stepping on the floor, doors sliding forcefully and screams bouncing off of the walls.

“He’s not here, either! Keep looking!” came the order. The palace’s staff and guards rapidly left the room and rushed to search in other rooms. One of them almost crushed Doyoung in their hurry to keep looking for the absent prince.

Her Majesty was sitting on her throne with an impassive face when he entered the royal room.

“Your Majesty,” he saluted, bowing deeply. “Did you call for me?”

“Where is my son?”

Doyoung wasn’t sure what kind of expression the queen was wearing since he kept his head hung low as the protocol demanded.

“Unfortunately, I have no idea, your Majesty. We’re still conducting the search, as soon as I have news you’ll be the first to hear it,” Doyoung promised, eyes trained on the polished floor underneath him.

“Look at me.”

Doyoung froze.

“I- I have no idea how to proceed, your Majesty, it is forbidden to look at you while-”

“Look at me, Doyoung, or I’ll have you beheaded.”

At such an order, he slowly lifted his head. Queen Bo Ah was staring straight at him, cold and calculating eyes boring deep into his. Doyoung felt a chill crept down his spine at such a fierce look.

“Doyoung, you were personally chosen by my son to lead his retinue. You were in charge of having everything perfect for him all of the time. You, of all the people in the palace, know him the best.”

Doyoung blinked, trying to not succumb under the queen’s hard stare.

“I’m gonna ask again, Doyoung. And you will tell me the truth. Don’t think I’m unaware that the little red-haired man has also disappeared. You are gonna tell me everything.”

Jaehyun’s closest courtier could feel how his jaw was trembling, his hands shaking and his eyes filling with tears. The queen examined him for a short moment before speaking again.

“Your duty is to the dynasty, my dear. Not to my reckless son. If you tell me where he is you will earn my respect, Doyoung. You would be helping the dynasty thrive, your courage and loyalty will be cherished for years, will be rewarded generously. “

Doyoung swallowed.

“Now tell me, where did my little Jaehyun and that man run off to?”

{-}

It was weird for the queen to leave the palace, Doyoung wasn’t sure if he had ever even seen her outside her wing of the palace.

Yet there she was, stepping down from her carriage with her heavy clothes and usual impassive face turned into a scowl.

They had found two horses, the prince’s favourite stallion and the other that was usually used to take Yuta back to his place before he moved into the palace. Unfortunately, they had found the horses in a terrible state, a mass of bloody limbs sprawled all over the shore of the river.

“Our guess is that the horses rolled all the way down from the way curved around the mountain. Since the path isn’t exactly man-made and a lot of loose stones cover the soil, the horses probably tripped, your Majesty,” Youngho explained to the queen, who was side-eyeing the bloody mess.

“The prince?”

Youngho frowned and looked up to the dangerous road a couple of metres above the little search party.

“We still haven’t found any traces of him, your Majesty. Rest assured we won’t stop until the prince is found safe and sound.”

Doyoung caught Youngho’s eyes and rapidly lowered his head.

The queen suddenly walked towards Doyoung, who had remained silent during the whole ordeal. The image of the horses had made him throw up a couple of minutes ago and he still felt quite dizzy. His vision was blurred with unshed tears, and a couple of them fall down when the most powerful woman in the whole kingdom stroked him across the face.

“How dare you, make me lose my time with this poorly set-up trap,” she exclaimed, watching Doyoung in disgust. “You have already crossed the line, and I have already spared your life once. How dare you insult me? Do you think I’m stupid? If you don’t tell me where my son went with that man, not even the great Gods will help you.”

Doyoung widened his eyes, tears now falling full force.

“Your Majesty, I swear I don’t know, do you think the prince told me where he was going? He only told me he would be taking this road since he was sure nobody would follow him through such a dangerous road. I swear, your Majesty, I’m telling the truth.”

“You’ve gone too far, Doyoung.”

With a single motion of a hand, Doyoung was promptly surrounded by the queen’s personal guard and forced to kneel on the floor.

“Please, your Majesty,” he begged, but even to his ears it sounded defeated more than desperate. He knew this would happen. “Please.”

“If I had known you would betray me like this, I wouldn’t have allowed you to remain by the prince’s side.”

Doyoung looked up, tears steadily falling from his eyes.

“All of your years of service gone to waste just to protect my stupid son. Doyoung, I thought you were better than this.”

“Don’t,” Doyoung tried speaking through hiccups. He was terrified. He was going to die, good Gods. Doyoung knew he was going to die, he had been prepared for it yet it didn’t make the realisation any less frightening. “Don’t call the prince stupid.”

Youngho bit his lip in order to refrain himself from speaking up. It was just so fucking sad to see Doyoung, usually composed and stern Doyoung, reduced to a crying mess.

A loyal crying mess, Youngho thought.

Doyoung had always been perfect for Jaehyun, and not because he was good at what he did, although it was obviously a plus. Doyoung had always been perfect for Jaehyun because he wasn’t just words, Doyoung was actions that spoke volumes about his aims: to make Jaehyun the greatest ruler, to guide him, to  _ protect _ him.

Doyoung was the fiercest person Youngho had ever encountered. And even now, looking at him all terrified and sobbing non-stop, there was nothing but respect in his heart for him.

“I’ll make you regret being born.”

Because everyone, even Youngho, knew Doyoung was lying. As much as he was a bad liar, though, he was incredibly stubborn.

Doyoung knew he was a terrible liar and he didn’t care. He wouldn’t sell Jaehyun out. He would rather die for him than betray him.

_ How dumb. _

Something akin to envy burnt deep within the prince’s personal guard.

Youngho stilled when Doyoung looked at him, pleading.

He knew the queen wouldn’t punish him, she would only scream at him for a while but ultimately, she would let it go.

Youngho could do this. For Jaehyun, at least. For the person he had sworn to protect with his life, for the person he had taken life after life without question.

It would be his own way of protecting the prince.

“Guards, take him.”

Jaehyun’s closest guard took a step towards Doyoung and signalled the guards grabbing him to move aside. He personally took Doyoung by the wrists and forced him to stand up.

Doyoung didn’t struggle, just let himself be manhandled.

“Thank you,” was the last thing Youngho heard Doyoung said before he unsheathed his sword and, under the attentive eyes of everyone present, pierced through Doyoung’s back, blade going deeper and deeper until it came out of his chest.

It was as if a blanket of white noise had fallen over Youngho. He could see the queen screaming and some guards running up to him, pushing his body aside and separating him from Doyoung.

He watched the other bleed to death in a dirty river shore. He stood there, just watching as other guards were uselessly trying to stop the bleeding.

Doyoung had died protecting Jaehyun. And wherever the fuck they went when they died, Youngho knew Doyoung was proud of himself. He had lived up to his words, even if Jaehyun would never hear about the sacrifice his most loyal dog had done.

Youngho had been a witness to Doyoung’s dedication and that was enough.

{-}

“I can’t believe you bought the fucking game, Jae, what the fuck?”

Jaehyun just sighed and opened the door. Yuta had been nagging him about his purchase the whole ride back home. He had been very colourful about his distaste for the board game.

“It was expensive as fuck and I don’t even understand how to play it,” Yuta kept mumbling as he closed the door behind him. “Please don’t tell me you bought it because of the story. I’m pretty sure that seller was just fucking with us.”

“Yes, Yuta, I actually bought it because of the story.”

Jaehyun left the game on the kitchen counter and made a beeline toward the loveseat, ungracefully dropping his body on top of the dark blue cushions.

“Don’t you think it’s romantic?” Jaehyun said once Yuta sat with him. “I mean, this game did bring the prince and the Gogish master together.”

“Dummy, we’re already together. It’s not like playing this will make us grow closer or something like that.”

Jaehyun smiled when he felt his boyfriend making himself comfortable next to his side, his head promptly finding purchase on Jaehyun’s shoulder. Yuta sighed when Jaehyun threw an arm around him.

“The seller seemed really passionate about the story, though. I mean, he did spend twenty minutes telling it. He even ignored some of the clients who went into the store. I would have felt bad if I didn’t buy it.”

Yuta rolled his eyes but he silently agreed. He might have found the game board stupidly pricey yet he could acknowledge it had been a good story. Granted, the story of a cold-hearted prince and a naive and eager stranger who melted the prince’s walls was rather cliché, nevertheless, as the story progressed, Yuta had found himself quite immersed in it. He was also pretty sure it was all made-up, a perfect strategy to sell a pricey game: the sole thing that brought two people together and made them fall in love. It sounded too good, too idealistic to be true.

“Well, he was a good story-teller,” Yuta conceded. “I wonder if they make all the sellers learn this made-up story so they can sell the game.”

“You don’t think it’s true?”

Yuta looked up to see Jaehyun furrowing his eyebrows.

“Sweetheart,” Yuta said, blinking, “what the fuck? Do you actually think it’s true? Oh, my dear Jaehyun. So naive. No wonder you got scammed. Twice. I won’t forget that useless broom you bought. It scratched my mom’s fucking floor with its ‘high-quality’ bristles.”

At this, Jaehyun flushed. His frustrated groan made Yuta smile.

“Can you please stop bringing that up,” Jaehyun said, digging his fingers in Yuta’s waist as revenge. The other yelped and slapped his hand away. “The world is bad to kind people, sue me.”

Yuta laughed and pressed a kiss to Jaehyun’s cheek.

“It’s true, the world doesn’t deserve you. You’re the kindest, Jae.”

_ “It’s why I fell for you, Jae.” _

_ _

Yuta snorted at his boyfriend's poor imitation of his voice.

“I do not sound like that, you brat.”

“I don’t see you denying it, though,” Jaehyun teased him good-naturedly.

“I can’t believe you actually considered the story to be true. There are so many historical inaccuracies, come on, baby.”

“Well, I’m sorry we aren’t all smart historians like you.”

Yuta laughed louder and hugged Jaehyun by the waist.

“I’m one of a kind, what can I say?”

Jaehyun just huffed in fake annoyance.

They stayed like that for a while, just glued to each other and basking in each other’s warmth.

“Would you have?”

“Mmh?”

Jaehyun cleared his throat like he always did whenever he was about to say something embarrassing.

“Would you have left an entire kingdom behind you for...your loved one? I think the prince was very brave.”

“Are you asking me if I would have given up the possibility of being the mightiest ruler in the world for some bright-eyed klutz?”

“Yeah.”

“Jaehyun,” Yuta said in a serious tone. “I would leave you if our hot neighbour Jongin knocked at our door and professed his undying love for me. In a second.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes.

“You do know he is engaged to Versace’s go-to model, Lee Taemin, right?”

“I would leave you for him, too.”

“Well, I do feel better after hearing my boyfriend would leave me without hesitation for some ripped guy. I should start hitting the gym more frequently, then.”

“Aw, baby, even if you went seven times a week, you would never look like Kim Jongin. But you can try, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Jaehyun pushed a laughing Yuta away from him and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“You’re seriously the worst.”

Yuta, still laughing, tried to uncross Jaehyun’s arms. It was rather futile, given that his boyfriend did hit the gym more frequently than him at least.

“I’m kidding, baby. You know I love you.” Yuta puckered his lips and tried to kiss Jaehyun, who only turned his head to the side, resulting in Yuta landing a kiss on his cheek rather than on his lips.

“Could have fooled me.”

Yuta laughed louder at his boyfriend's childish behaviour.

“I mean, I think I did a pretty good job at letting you know you’re it for me when I made the whole cheering team make a routine at 3 am in the morning in front of your dorm in a desperate attempt to show you I was the right one for you and not Johnny. I even sang a Frank Ocean song and all, talk about dedicated.”

When Jaehyun cracked a small smile, Yuta knew he had won.

“You dummy, Johnny and I weren’t a thing, and we didn’t even like each other like that. You know that.”

“Could have fooled me, with all the touches and butt slapping going around.”

Jaehyun finally laughed and Yuta cheered, rapidly climbing onto his boyfriend’s lap when he uncrossed his arms. Jaehyun couldn’t stay mad at Yuta for long, and the elder of the two knew this. He made sure to take advantage of such a fact as often as he could. Of course, this didn’t mean Yuta pushed Jaehyun’s buttons too hard.

“You know your butt is the only one I want to slap,” Jaehyun said with a greasy smile, circling his arms around Yuta’s waist. One of his hands rapidly dropped and squeezed Yuta’s ass as if proving his point.

His boyfriend only laughed.

“I love you, silly. I would leave everything for you, don’t you ever doubt that.”

No matter how much Jaehyun had grown used to Yuta’s presence, to his loud laugh and bad jokes, to his bright smile and soft skin, he would never grow used to the way his heart’s pulse skyrocketed whenever he heard those three words leave his boyfriend’s mouth.

“Even if I buy stupid and pricey board games?”

Yuta giggled and nodded, fingers reaching out to play with the hair in Jaehyun’s nape.

“You just wait and see, I’m gonna kick your ass once I learn how to play it. That supposedly talented Gogish master? Got nothing on me.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Jaehyun said with a snort, pulling Yuta closer to him. Yuta closed his eyes when Jaehyun leaned in a kissed him, lips rapidly fitting to his boyfriend’s mouth.

“I love you,” Jaehyun said once they broke apart. “I seriously do.”

“I know,” Yuta answered, eyes crinkling up. “I can tell. I guess I must have used all of my life’s worth of luck to be able to be with you.”

Yuta could feel how Jaehyun shuddered underneath him

“Are you cold?” Yuta asked, immediately reaching up to feel Jaehyun’s temperature. His skin didn’t feel feverish, fortunately.

“It’s nothing. I think I just had a déjà vu, that’s all,” Jaehyun assured him. He took Yuta’s hand from his forehead and brought it to his lips. He carefully kissed each of his fingers and then the inside of his wrist.

“You’re such a sap,” Yuta said between giggles.

Jaehyun laughed but didn’t stop peppering Yuta’s skin with kisses.

“You love it.”

“I love you.”

“Who’s the sap now?”

{-}

_ “Is this okay? Am I allowed to remain by your side like this?” _

_ _

_ “Of course, Yuta. You’re allowed by my side as long as I don’t beat you.” _

_ _

_ A cheeky smile. _

_ _

_ “Well, then,  _ Jaehyun _ . I only have to win this match like all of our previous matches. Then I’ll have to defeat you every time, so I can be happy with you forever.” _

_ _

_ “I’ll play with you forever, Yuta.” _

_ _

_ “Is that so?” _

_ _

_ “Of course. Because I love you. I seriously do.” _

**Author's Note:**

> That was it! The story is quite different from my usual style ahah so let me know what you think about it!! Please leave me a comment and some kudos, remember they're very important to us, authors!!
> 
> #HAPPYYUTADAY I know I am a bit late but who cares lol I hope Yuta has the happiest birthday ever because he is my special boy and I love him very much!!
> 
> As always, I wanna thank my lovely beta and friend, Eden, who is always turning my messy fics into something legible!! She's incredible so a shout out to her please~
> 
> ALSO! I promise I will continue my other yujae fic "In Bocca al Lupo", many of the chapters are already written but right now I barely have time to sit down and edit them tbh, I wrote this fic because I needed to get it out of my system asap!! So pls dont worry, I will definetly finish it. Thanks for being patient with me <3 Do check my other fics as well pls uwu thanks <3
> 
> Alright, I guess that's all for now! Oh, don't forget to keep an eye on the Yuta Fic Fest!!! (we need more yuta fics!!)
> 
> Have a great day, everyone, and again, please don't forget to leave a comment (or at least some kudos uwu) Thanks!
> 
> oops forgot to drop my twitter lmao --> @_pequinessa (come say hi!)


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